Nick Aaron Ford, critic, pedagogic, and activist, was born on August 4, 1904, in Ridgeway (part of Columbia), South Carolina, to Nick Aaron Ford, Sr., a laborer who was born enslaved, and Carrie Ford, a substitute teacher. Nick was introduced to reading by his mother … Read MoreNick Aaron Ford (1904-1982)
Musician, songwriter, disc jockey, music journalist, film director, and drummer Ahmir Thompson, known as “Questlove,” was born January 20, 1971, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With his friend Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, he co-founded the hip-hop group the Roots. Since 2014, the Roots have been the in-house … Read MoreAhmir “Questlove” Thompson (1971- )
Journalist, historian, activist A. Peter Bailey was born on February 24, 1938, in Columbus, Georgia, to Upson Bailey, Sr. from Randolph County, Alabama, and Alga McFarlane Bailey from Birmingham. However, he was reared in Tuskegee, Alabama. From the first grade in 1944 to the eighth … Read MoreA. Peter Bailey (1938- )
Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones, most famous for her role in the 1619 Project, is an investigative journalist, who was born on April 9, 1976, in Waterloo, Iowa. She is of mixed heritage, as her father, Milton Hannah, is African American, and her mother, Cheryl A. Novotny, … Read MoreNikole Hannah-Jones (1976- )
It took nearly a century for Philip Jordan to receive proper recognition as a first-hand observer and informal reporter on the Russian Revolution of 1917. Believed to be the son of a slave, Jordan was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1868. He spent his … Read MorePhilip Jordan (1868-1941)
Audrey Smedley, one of the nation’s first African American women anthropologists, was born in Detroit in 1930, the eldest daughter of Ulysses and Mattie Smedley. While raising six children, her mother maintained a career as a beautician; her father owned and operated a gas station … Read MoreAudrey Smedley (1930-2020)
Born on September 16, 1860, William D. “Bill” Foster was a late 19th/ early 20th century showman who was among the first to prove the commercial viability of making Black-cast films and marketing them to Black audiences. He was the first African American to establish … Read MoreWilliam D. Foster (1860-1940)
Tireless adoption advocate and civil rights activist Mabel T. Grammer was born on December 23, 1913, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the granddaughter of slaves and one of the seven children of Pearl and Edward Treadwell. Her father, who worked as a bellhop, died when she … Read MoreMabel Treadwell Grammer (1913-2002)
William B. Hartgrove, Jr. one of the founders of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) was born sometime in November 1877 in Washington, D.C. to William B. Hartgrove, Sr. and Rebecca Perry Hartgrove, former slaves. He studied at Howard … Read MoreWilliam B. Hartgrove, Jr. (1877-1918)
Adrienne Kennedy has earned a place as one of contemporary America’s most renowned and admired African American authors, lecturers, and playwrights. Kennedy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 13, 1931 to Cornell Wallace and Etta (Haugabook) Hawkins. Kennedy spent her childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, … Read MoreAdrienne Kennedy (1931- )
