Clilan (C.B.) Powell, longtime owner of the Amsterdam News, was born in 1894 to former Virginia slaves. Very little is known about his childhood. He received his medical degree in 1920 from Howard University School of Medicine and began his career specializing in x-ray technology. … Read MoreC. B. Powell (1894-1977)
Chief Alfred Charles Sam, a shadowy figure in Oklahoma history, inspired the emigration of hundreds of African American Oklahomans back to Africa in the second decade of the 20th century. Those who completed the first journey to Africa endured physical and financial hardships, with some … Read MoreChief Alfred Charles Sam (ca. 1880 -1930s)
Inventor, entrepreneur, and publisher Garrett A. Morgan Sr. received patents for a three-position traffic signal and a safety hood that was designed to aid breathing in smoke-filled areas. He gained national attention when he utilized his mask to rescue men trapped during a tunnel explosion … Read MoreGarrett A. Morgan, Sr. (ca. 1877-1963)
Robert Louis Johnson, founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is also the majority owner of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the first African American billionaire. He was born in Hickory, Mississippi in … Read MoreRobert Louis Johnson (1946- )
Entertainer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s original name was Luther Robinson. He was born on May 25, 1878, to Maxwell, a machinist, and Maria Robinson, a church choir director, in Richmond Virginia. Both parents died tragically in 1885. Robinson did not like his birth name, Luther, and … Read MoreBill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949)
Born enslaved in Tennessee, this girl came west with Ursuline nuns after being freed. Not known for her quiet temperament, she left the convent in her teens and became, in time, a restaurant owner in several towns in Montana, Wyoming and Alberta and Saskatachewan, Canada, … Read MoreMary Fields (1832-1914)
