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)
Historian, athlete, and professor Otey Matthew Scruggs was born in the seaport town of Vallejo, California, on June 29, 1929 but reared in Santa Barbara. He was the son of Otey Scruggs and Maude Smith Scruggs. He had one sister, Consuelo Scruggs Devereaux. Scruggs attended … Read MoreOtey Matthew Scruggs (1929-2014)
Robin Davis Gibran Kelley is an educator, historian, and author. Kelley was born on March 14, 1962, in New York City, New York, and grew up in the Harlem/Washington Heights area. He participated in the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program, and attended P.S. 28, … Read MoreRobin Kelley (1962- )
Rutgers University President Jonathan S. Holloway was born July 26, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of an Air Force lieutenant colonel Dr. Wendell Mondoza Holloway and preschool and elementary school teacher Kay Trent Holloway. He grew up mainly in Montgomery, Alabama where his father … Read MoreJonathan Scott Holloway (1967- )
Marion Thompson Wright, educator and historian, was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in history in the United States. Wright was born on September 12, 1902, in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Moses R. Thompson and Minnie Homes Thompson. Her … Read MoreMarion Thompson Wright (1902-1962)
