Charlamagne Tha God is a radio presenter, television personality, and author who is best known as the co-host of the radio show The Breakfast Club alongside Raashaun “DJ Envy” Casey and Angela Yee. Charlamagne was born Lenard Larry McKelvey on June 29, 1978 to Larry … Read MoreCharlamagne Tha God (1978- )
Arthur Paul Davis was an African American university teacher, literary scholar, author, and editor, born November 21, 1904, to Andrew Davis and Francis (Nash) Davis in Hampton, Virginia. He was one of nine children. He married Clarice E. Winn on October 6, 1928 (d. 1978), … Read MoreArthur Paul Davis (1904-1996)
American singer, songwriter, and producer, Charles Kent Wilson, best known as Charlie Wilson, was born on January 29, 1953 to Reverend Oscar and Lucy Wilson in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father was a Church of God in Christ minister. His mother was a pianist and minister … Read MoreCharlie Wilson (1953- )
Tyler Perry is a world-renowned actor, director, producer, writer, and philanthropist. Born Emmitt Perry, Jr. on September 13, 1969 to Willie Maxine Campbell Perry and Emmitt Perry, Sr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, Perry changed his name to Tyler to distance himself from his father. Perry’s … Read MoreTyler Perry (1969- )
Inarguably, one of the leading figures in African and African American history is Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey, known as “Aggrey of Africa.” Not only can Africa claim him, but also the African Diaspora. Aggrey was born on October 18, 1875, at Anomabo in the … Read MoreJames Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey (1875-1927)
Denise Katrina Matthews—singer, songwriter, actress, model, and dancer—was born on January 4, 1959 to a Polish-German Jewish mother, Helga Senyk, and an African American father, Levia James Matthews, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. She also had two sisters Patricia and Renay Matthews. Her parents divorced … Read MoreDenise Katrina “Vanity” Matthews
José Celso Barbosa Alcalá, physician, polemicist, professor, politician, and publisher, was born on July 27, 1857 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico to Carmen Alcalá and Hermógenes Barbosa, brick mason and San Antonio sugar mill overseer. Barbosa’s life traversed significant periods: Spanish colonization; Grito de Lares; slavery, … Read MoreJosé Barbosa (1857-1921)
Thomas Detter, late 19th century black businessman, Methodist minister, and civil rights advocate, was one of the first black literary figures to emerge in the U.S. West. The son of a free stonemason, Detter was born near Washington, D.C. around 1830. Very little is known … Read MoreThomas Detter (ca. 1830-1891)
Alton Parker Hornsby, Jr., author, historian and professor, was born on September 3, 1940 in Atlanta, Georgia to Lillie Mae Newton Hornsby, an entrepreneur and voting rights activist, and Alton P. Hornsby, an automobile painter. Hornsby was one of six children whose parents briefly owned … Read MoreAlton Hornsby, Jr. (1940-2017)
