American sociologist, social worker, and minister Richard Robert Wright Jr. was born on April 16, 1878, in Cuthbert, Georgia to Richard Robert Wright, Sr., who had been born into slavery but graduated from Atlanta University and founded the National Freedom Day Association. Wright’s mother, Lydia … Read MoreRichard Robert Wright Jr. (1878-1967)
Sheila Y. Oliver is a politician and the lieutenant governor of New Jersey. Oliver was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 14, 1952, and raised there. She graduated from Weequahic High School in 1970 and then attended Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) graduating cum laude with … Read MoreShelia Y. Oliver (1952- )
Adelaide McGuinn Cromwell was an accomplished American Sociologist as well as a pioneering scholar of Africa, African America, international relations, and women’s studies. On November 27, 1919, Adelaide was born to a prominent Washington, D.C. family. Her father John Wesley Cromwell Jr. was the first-ever … Read MoreAdelaide McGuinn Cromwell (1919-2019)
Melba “Malín” Falú Pesante, model, producer, radio and television personality, was born June 28, 1946, in la Parada 22, Santurce, Puerto Rico to María Magdalena “Malen” Pesante Santana and Juan “Juanín” Falú Zarzuela, founder of the League to Promote the Advancement of Blacks in Puerto … Read MoreMalín Falú (1946- )
Educator and HCBU President Lionel Hodge Newsom was born on November 11, 1919 in Wichita Falls, Texas, to Lawson and Georgia (McCullough) Newsom. He attended the local school, and enrolled into Lincoln University, Missouri where he became member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Newsom graduated … Read MoreLionel Hodge Newsom (1919-1991)
Stuart Hall was a leading 20th Century cultural theorist and a sociologist. Hall, widely known as a founder of British Cultural Studies and the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies, pioneered theories of multiculturalism. He is generally credited with expanding the field of cultural studies to … Read MoreStuart Hall (1932-2014)
Shirley Clarke Franklin became Atlanta, Georgia’s first African American female mayor in 2001, as well as the first woman to be a mayor of a major southern city. Clarke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1945 to parents Eugene Haywood Clarke and Ruth … Read MoreShirley Clarke Franklin (1945- )
Hylan Garnett Lewis was a distinguished sociologist and pioneer in the field of community studies whose work helped guide the study of American race relations for more than half a century. Throughout his life, Lewis analyzed, and sought remedies for, the problems of the poor … Read MoreHylan Garnet Lewis (1911-2000)
Inez Maxine Pitter Haynes, the middle sibling of the Pitter sisters, was born February 06, 1919 to Edward A. Pitter and Marjorie Allen Pitter, in Seattle, Washington. In 1936 she graduated from Garfield High School and entered the University of Washington as a pre-nursing major, … Read MoreInez Maxine Pitter Haynes (1919-2004)
Edward Franklin Frazier, the most prominent African American sociologist of the 20th Century, was born on September 24, 1894 and died on May 17, 1962. Best known for his critical work on the black middle class, Black Bourgeoisie (1957), Frazier was also a harsh critic … Read MoreE. Franklin Frazier (1894-1962)
