Alexander Louis Jackson II, historian, journalist, athlete, and one of five founders of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), was born on March 1, 1891, in Englewood, New Jersey, to Alexander Louis Jackson and Evelyn Martha Lewis Jackson. They, … Read MoreAlexander Louis Jackson, II (1891-1973)
Randy Allen Daniels is a politician, and journalist, who served as the 61st Secretary of State for New York. Daniels was born in 1950, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother was a seamstress from Mississippi, and his father was a dry cleaner from Arkansas. Daniels attended … Read MoreRandy Daniels (1950- )
Irving Garland Penn was a journalist, educator, and key figure at Methodist Episcopal Church. Penn was born on October 7, 1867, in New Glasgow, Virginia, to a mulatto family, possibly of black and Native American heritage. His father Isom was a railroad brakeman, and his … Read MoreIrving Garland Penn (1867-1930)
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- )
Janet Mock is an African American, Hawaiian, and Transgendered person. She was born on March 10, 1983, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was raised in Honolulu, Oakland, California and Dallas, Texas as Charles Mock III. Her father is Charles Mock II and her mother is Elizabeth … Read MoreJanet Mock (1983- )
Simeon Saunders Booker Jr.’s innovative career in journalism transformed how African American readers engaged with news coverage of politics and social injustices. As the first African American reporter for the Washington Post, he provided insight into the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. On August … Read MoreSimeon S. Booker (1918-2017)
Leslie “Les” Payne, raised in the Jim Crow South, was dedicated to utilizing the realm of journalism to improve living conditions of African Americans. As a Pulitzer Prize recipient for his 33-part series titled “The Heroin Trail,” Payne’s late career continues to inspire rising generations … Read MoreLes Payne (1941-2018)
Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first African American female correspondent at the White House and the first black female member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries. Dunnigan was born April 27, 1906, in Russellville, Kentucky, to Willie and Lena Pitman Allison. Her father worked as … Read MoreAlice Allison Dunnigan (1906-1983)
The first mayor of African descent of a major European city, Severiano de Heredia, was born in Havana, Cuba, on November 8, 1836. He was the son of prosperous mulatto parents, Henri de Heredia and Beatriz de Cárdenas. Registered as a “mulatto born free” in the parish of Jesus del Monte, some … Read MoreSeveriano de Heredia (1836-1901)
Hilton Als is an American writer and art critic who was born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, the child of two Barbados immigrants. Raised by his mother with his five siblings, four sisters and one brother, he studied art history at Columbia University but dropped out before graduation and became a … Read MoreHilton Als (1960- )
