The Honorable Nathaniel Raphael Jones was an African American attorney, judge, and law professor. His indelible contributions and steadfast commitment to equality for all under the law’s eyes have since resulted in tremendous progress for persons of color in the United States and abroad. Nathaniel … Read MoreNathaniel R. Jones (1926-2020)
Sheila Y. Oliver is a politician and the lieutenant governor of New Jersey. Oliver was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 14, 1952, and raised there. She graduated from Weequahic High School in 1970 and then attended Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) graduating cum laude with … Read MoreShelia Y. Oliver (1952- )
Newspaper owner John Robert Clifford was born September 13, 1848 in Williamsport, West Virginia to Isaac and Saltipa Clifford. During the Civil War he rose to the rank of Corporal in the U.S. Colored Troops, entering U.S. military service in 1864 at the age of … Read MoreJohn Robert “J.R.” Clifford (1848-1933)
“Hill” Harper is an actor, author, and lawyer, best known for his roles on television shows CSI:NY and The Good Doctor. Harper was born in Iowa City, Iowa on May 17, 1966. His father, Harry D. Harper, II, is a psychiatrist and his mother, Marilyn … Read MoreFrancis Eugene “Hill” Harper (1966- )
Rufus Early Clement was an educator and administrator who served as president of Atlanta University Center, a consortium of historically black colleges, from 1937 to 1967. Clement was born on June 26, 1900, in Salisbury, North Carolina, to Emma Williams and George Clinton Clement, Bishop … Read MoreRufus Early Clement (1900-1967)
Sheryl Patrice Underwood is a comedian, actress, and talk show host. Underwood was born on October 28, 1963, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Joyce Evelyn and Cleo Underwood. She has been very vocal about the various traumas she has experienced in her life since birth. … Read MoreSheryl Patrice Underwood (1963- )
Lillie May Carroll Jackson was a civil rights organizer in Baltimore and longtime leader of the city’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Known as the “Mother of Freedom,” Jackson was credited with pioneering the tactic of non-violent resistance … Read MoreLillie M. Carroll Jackson (1889-1975)
Alfre Ette Woodard, an American actress, producer, and political activist, was born on November 8, 1952 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Marion H. Woodard, an interior designer/ wildcat oil driller and Constance “Connie” B. Robinson Woodard, a homemaker. Woodard’s parents once operated a nursing home. She … Read MoreAlfre Woodard (1952- )
Dubbed the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” for her culinary genius, Leah Chase was an American chef, author, and TV personality who advanced the Civil Rights Movement as a celebrity chef. Chase was born on January 6, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Catholic Creole parents. … Read MoreLeah “Dooky” Chase (1923-2019)
Willard L. Bowman was a union organizer, politician, and civil rights activist in Anchorage, Alaska. From 1963 to 1970, he served as the first director of the state’s Human Rights Commission. In 1970 he was one of the first African Americans elected to the Alaska … Read MoreWillard L. Bowman (1919-1975)
