In June 2021, Dr. Chibundu Onuzo exemplified the range of her talents when she released a music video entitled “Good Soil” to accompany the publication of her third novel, Sankofa. Dr. Onuzo is an author, singer, pianist, playwright, screenwriter, regular contributor to The Guardian, and … Read MoreChibundu Onuzo (1991- )
Mason Derelle Betha is an American pastor, author, and former rapper born on August 27, 1975, as a fraternal twin with sister Stason. Better known by his stage name, Ma$e, Betha was born almost two months premature to Mason and P.K. Betha in Jacksonville, Florida. … Read MoreMa$e/Mason Derelle Betha (1975- )
Political novelist Al-Tayyib Salih, whose family background was both Arab and Nubian, was one of Sudan’s most significant authors of the 20th century. He was born on July 12, 1929, in Marawi, Sudan, to a poor Muslim farming family and was an only child. In … Read MoreAl-Tayyib Salih (1929-2009)
Author, philanthropist, scholar, mentor, and activist James L. Conyers Jr. was born James (Jim/ Naazir) L. Brown Jr. on June 17, 1961, in Jersey City, New Jersey at the Margaret Hague Hospital. He graduated from Henry Snyder High School in 1979 and four years later … Read MoreJames L. Conyers Jr. (1961-2021)
Dr. Arlyne Simon is a biomedical engineer, patented inventor, and author of children’s literature. She was born in 1986 on the Caribbean Island of Dominica to Beverly Stedman-Andrew, a primary school teacher, and Lionel Simon, a civil engineer. Simon earned a Ph.D. in macromolecular science … Read MoreArlyne Simon (1986- )
Ronald Elbert Mickens is the Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Physics at Clark-Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Petersburg, Virginia, on February 7, 1943, he was the son of Joseph Mickens and Daisy Brown Mickens but was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, James Williamson, inspired Mickens to become a scientist … Read MoreRonald Elbert Mickens (1943- )
Novelist and short story writer Terry McMillan was born on October 18, 1951 in Port Huron, Michigan to Edward and Madeline McMillan. During her childhood her father spent much of his time confined to his home due to tuberculosis, forcing her mother to support the family by working … Read MoreTerry McMillan (1951- )
Mystic cult leader, intellectual, author, and war survivor Robert T. Browne was born in a shack near LaGrange, Texas, on July 16, 1882. He was believed to be the son of illiterate former slaves who likely attended a black Methodist church in the vicinity. An exceptional student, when Browne … Read MoreRobert Tecumtha Browne (1882-1978)
Award-winning actor Octavia Lenora Spencer was born on May 25, 1970, in Montgomery, Alabama. Her mother, Dellsena Spenser, raised her seven children alone, relying solely for support from a modest maid’s salary. Spencer attended her local public elementary school and graduated from Jefferson Davis High … Read MoreOctavia Lenora Spencer (1972- )
John Ridley IV is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist known best for the 2013 film, 12 Years a Slave, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Ridley was born in October 1965, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to an ophthalmologist father, … Read MoreJohn Ridley IV (1965- )
