Derrick Brown is a computer scientist, engineer, and technology entrepreneur who pioneered Black-related websites and search engines in the 1990s. Born in Ellorree, South Carolina, in 1969, Brown grew up playing baseball and writing essays. In the fifth grade he won a statewide essay writing … Read MoreDerrick Brown (1969- )
In 1969, Byron Eugene Lewis opened UniWorld Group (UWG), the oldest multicultural advertising and communications firm in the United States. From the outset, he focused on a Black and Brown target audience that was not well-represented in the media. Over the next few decades, UWG … Read MoreByron Eugene Lewis Sr. (1931- )
Patricia Ann McGrath is founder and CEO of a cosmetics business that was valued in excess of $1 billion in 2018. She is heralded as the world’s most influential make-up artist. Born June 11, 1970 in Northampton, England, she is the daughter of Jean McGrath, … Read MorePatricia Ann McGrath (1970- )
John Brooks Slaughter is an electrical engineer, retired university president, college professor, and the first African American to serve as the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Slaughter was born on March 16, 1934 in Topeka, Kansas to Reuben Brooks Slaughter, a laborer, and … Read MoreJohn Brooks Slaughter (1934- )
Addison Barry Rand became one of the first African American chief executives of a Fortune 500 company when he took control of Avis rental car company in 1999. Addison Barry Rand was born in Washington D.C. on Nov. 5, 1944. His mother, Helen Matthews Rand, … Read MoreAddison Barry Rand (1944-2018)
Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, an immunologist, medical doctor, and policymaker, was named President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) on June 1, 2020. She is the third chief executive of the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy group since its founding in 1993. In her role … Read MoreMichelle McMurry-Heath (1979- )
Nissim Baruch Black, formerly known as D. Black, is an African American Jewish rapper who now lives in Israel. Nissim, whose real name is Damian Jamohl Black, was born on December 9, 1986 to James “Captain” Church Croone and Mia Black in Seattle, Washington. Nissim’s … Read MoreNissim Black (1986- )
Georgina Falú Pesante, university executive, community organizer, professor, and Pan-Africanist, was born on April 23, 1939 in Santurce, Puerto Rico to María Magdalena “Malen” Pesante Santana, business owner and homemaker, and Juan “Juanín” Falú Zarzuela, civil rights activist. Her father created the League to Promote … Read MoreGeorgina Falú (1939- )
Magazine editor Susan L. Taylor was born in Harlem, New York on January 23, 1946. Her parents, Lawrence, from St. Kitts, and Violet, from Trinidad, came to New York in the 1920s and owned a clothing store for thirty years until it closed in the … Read MoreSusan L. Taylor (1946 – )
Former magazine owner Linda Johnson Rice was born on March 22, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois to John and Eunice Johnson. Rice’s father in 1942 founded Johnson Publishing Company which published Ebony and Jet magazines and as a result was the largest black-owned magazine publisher in … Read MoreLinda Johnson Rice (1958- )
