Joseph Louis Cook was an Afro-Iroquois leader and a Commissioned Officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Cook was born Nia-man-rigounant around the year 1737 in an area now known as Schuylerville, New York. His father was African, and his mother was … Read MoreColonel Joseph Louis Cook (ca. 1737-1814)
On July 24, 2016, 37-year-old Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi was beaten outside of his home in Ottawa, Canada by constables Dave Weir and Daniel Montsion. His subsequent death sparked multiple Black Lives Matter protests in the Canadian capital and the formation of the Justice for Abdirahman … Read MoreAbdirahman Abdi (1979-2016)
William Decker Johnson was the 42nd Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and founder of Johnson Home Industrial College in Archery, Georgia. Born November 15th, 1869 in Glasgow, Thomas County, Georgia to Reverend Andrew Jackson Johnson and Mattie McCullough. Both parents were former … Read MoreWilliam Decker Johnson (1869-1936)
Denise Katrina Matthews—singer, songwriter, actress, model, and dancer—was born on January 4, 1959 to a Polish-German Jewish mother, Helga Senyk, and an African American father, Levia James Matthews, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. She also had two sisters Patricia and Renay Matthews. Her parents divorced … Read MoreDenise Katrina “Vanity” Matthews (1959-2016)
John Brown (also known as “Fed” and “Benford”) of Southampton County, Virginia is best remembered as an escaped enslaved person who wrote an account of his bondage that was published in England in 1854. Brown was born about 1818 on the Betty Moore farm, three … Read MoreJohn Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)
Howard Venable is known for the revolutionary changes he made in the field of ophthalmology. Venable was born January 27, 1913 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to mother, Agnes Hill, and father, William Venable. He moved to Detroit, Michigan as a child and spent most of … Read MoreHoward Venable (1913-1998)
Rick James was a singer-songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist, who was born on February 1, 1948 and raised in Buffalo, New York. His Father James Ambrose Johnson, Sr., was said to be abusive and ended up leaving when James was eight years old. His mother Mabel Gladden worked as … Read MoreRick James/James Ambrose Johnson (1948-2004)
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)
Although mainly known as the founder of Louisville National Medical College, Dr. Henry Fitzbutler was an exceptional physician and educator. Fitzbutler and his wife Sarah Helen McCurdy became activists in their community of Essex County, Canada and later when they returned to the United States. Henry Fitzbutler was born in Virginia on December 22, … Read MoreHenry Fitzbutler (1842-1901)
