Rachel Pringle Polgreen (1753-1791)

Rachel Pringle Polgreen, a free mulatto woman, became infamous during the 1770s to 1780s, as the first woman of color to own a Hotel-Tavern in Bridgetown, Barbados, based on the (sexual) entertainment of transient British Naval Officers.  Visitors to this hotel included numerous prominent officers … Read MoreRachel Pringle Polgreen (1753-1791)

Gwendolyn L. Ifill (1955–2016)

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Ifill was a PBS newscaster, author, and American Peabody Award-winning journalist. Ifill was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, on September 29, 1955. Her father, Oliver Urcille Ifill Sr., was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister of Barbadian descent who immigrated to Panama, … Read MoreGwendolyn L. Ifill (1955–2016)

Frederick McDonald Massiah (1886–1975)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Frederick McDonald Massiah was one of the first African Americans to receive a civil engineering degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was also one of the first successful African American contracting engineers in the country. Massiah was born in … Read MoreFrederick McDonald Massiah (1886–1975)

Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (1957- )

Born in Tinton Falls, New Jersey in 1957, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1975. Thinking she might teach overseas, Bernicat earned a teaching credential in social sciences at the secondary level. Rather than … Read MoreMarcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (1957- )

Larry L. Palmer (1949- )

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” On November 1, 2011, President Barack H. Obama appointed Larry L. Palmer the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed Palmer’s nomination and he reported to his post in Bridgetown, Barbados. … Read MoreLarry L. Palmer (1949- )