Louis Cameron Gossett Jr., one of the most commanding American actors in television and film, as well as a producer, director, and social activist, was born on May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, the only child to Louis Cameron Gossett Sr. and Hellen Rebecca … Read MoreLouis Gossett Jr. (1936-2024)
The African-American animator and director Frank Cavalier Braxton Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 1929, to Frank Cavalier Braxton from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mignon A. Callaway Braxton from Atlanta, Georgia. As a child, Frank had a gift and talent for drawing … Read MoreFrank Cavalier Braxton Jr. (1929-1969)
Patrice Louise Rushen is an R&B singer and jazz pianist. She was born on September 30, 1954 in Los Angeles, California to Allen and Ruth Rushen. Rushen is a musical prodigy who began playing piano at the age of three. In 1958 her parents enrolled … Read MorePatrice Rushen (1954- )
Ronald Earle Glass was an American actor and director who was best known for his role as Detective Ron Harris on the long-running cop comedy television sitcom Barney Miller. Glass was born to Lethia and Crump Glass on July 10, 1945, in Evansville, Indiana. He … Read MoreRonald Earle Glass (1945-2016)
Nate Parker is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and musical performer, who has appeared in popular films such as Red Tails, The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters, and Arbitrage. He is best known, however, as the star and producer of The Birth … Read MoreNate Parker (1979– )
Lloyd George Richards was an African American film, theater, and video director. He was born on June 29, 1919, in Toronto, Ontario, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. Richards was only nine years old when his father died, which left his mother to raise five children … Read MoreLloyd George Richards (1919–2006)
Groundbreaking West Coast “gangsta” rapper, actor, screenwriter, executive producer, and director Ice Cube was born O’Shea Jackson on June 15, 1969, to Doris and Hosea Jackson in Los Angeles, California. The Jacksons were a working-class family; Hosea was a groundskeeper at UCLA, and Doris worked as … Read MoreO’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (1969- )
