Michael de Frietas, later known as Michael Abdul Malik and Michael X, was a controversial black revolutionary figure born in Port-au-Spain, Trinidad in 1933. He was mixed-race. Iona Brown, his mother, was working-class and a known African spiritualist in their community in Trinidad. His estranged father, Emmanuel de Frietas, was Portuguese and … Read MoreMichael X (1933-1975)
Samuel R. Lowery was the first black attorney to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He was born on December 8, 1830 (or 1832), in Davidson Country, Tennessee to an enslaved father, Peter Lowery, and a Cherokee mother, Ruth Mitchell. His mother … Read MoreSamuel R. Lowery (c.1830 -1900)
Stormé DeLarverie, a gay rights activist best known for her part in the Stonewall uprisings, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1920. She celebrated her birthday on December 24, but she was not certain of her true date of birth. Stormé was born to an African American mother who … Read MoreStormé DeLarverie (1920-2014)
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese–Haitian professional tennis player. She is most famous for her upset victory over Serena Williams in the U.S. Open on September 8, 2018. Beginning her professional career in 2013, Osaka has made many significant achievements. In 2018, Osaka reached her highest singles world ranking as number … Read MoreNaomi Osaka (1997- )
William McBryar was a biracial buffalo soldier whose received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the 1890 Cherry Creek Campaign in Arizona Territory. McBryar was born on February 14, 1861 in Elizabethtown, North Carolina to Rose McBryar, an African American, and a white father whose name is unknown. McBryar attended … Read MoreWilliam McBryar (1861-1941)
Rachel Megan Markle was born on August 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Her African American mother Doria Ragland was a social worker and yoga instructor, and her Caucasian father Thomas Markle Sr., is a retired television director of lighting and photography. The couple divorced … Read MoreRachel Megan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex (1981- )
Eulalie de Mandeville was born in 1774 in New Orleans, Louisiana, from the alliance between the prosperous French nobleman, Pierre Philippe Mandeville de Marigny, and one of his slaves, Marie-Jeanne. Eulalie was freed by her paternal grandparents in 1779 and was raised by them. As a member of a … Read MoreEulalie de Mandeville (1774-1848)
Josef Nassy was an Afro-Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor. Born on January 19, 1904 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch Guiana), he was one of seven children born to Adolf Philipus Nassy, a prosperous Jewish businessman who was elected to the Surinam Parliament, and Elisabeth Carolina Natalia Nassy (born de Maesschalk), … Read MoreJosef Johan Cosmo Nassy (1904-1976)
Ivorian–French pop singer John William was born Ernest Armand Huss on October 9, 1922 in the coastal town of Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He was born to a Frenchman, Ernest Charles Huss, and an Ivorian woman, Henriette Amoussan, with whom he never had much acquaintance. At … Read MoreJohn William, a.k.a Ernest Armand Huss (1922-2011)
At a time when educated, skilled, and ambitious African Americans were systematically excluded from even middle management positions in large white-controlled businesses, for decades Charles H. Dodge remained one of the extremely rare persons in the nation to occupy a high ranking corporate position in … Read MoreCharles H. Dodge (1868-1942)
