Jesmyn Ward, an acclaimed American writer and an associate professor of English at Tulane University, was born in 1977, in DeLisle, Mississippi, the town where she grew up and where she now again lives. She is the only woman to have won two National Books Awards, the first in 2011 … Read MoreJesmyn Ward (1977- )
Legal scholar and author James Forman Jr. (a.k.a. James Robert Lumumba Forman) was born in New York City, New York on June 22, 1967. His mother, political activist Constancia Romilly, was the daughter of English author and journalist Jessica Mitford; his father, James Forman, Sr., played a prominent role … Read MoreJames Forman Jr. (1967- )
University professor and political activist Beverley Bryan was born in 1950 in Portland, Jamaica. Her Jamaican parents were part of the “Windrush” generation, the post-World War II migration Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Great Britain, Northern Europe, and the United States. Bryan’s family eventually settled in the Brixton section of London, UK where there was … Read MoreBeverley Bryan (1950- )
Born February 10, 1932, Vivienne Malone-Mayes was the fifth African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. Malone-Mayes grew up in Waco, Texas, and in 1948, she graduated from A.J. Moore High School when she was only 16 years old. Although her high school in Waco was segregated, she … Read MoreVivienne Malone-Mayes (1932-1995)
Julius Henry Taylor was an American physicist, scholarly publisher, physics professor, and one of the first African Americans to receive a Ph.D. in physics in the nation. Taylor was born on February 15th, 1914, in Cape May, New Jersey, to his parents Julia Taylor and Coleman Taylor. Taylor grew … Read MoreJulius Henry Taylor (1914-2011)
Dr. Olivia Juliette Hooker is one of the last known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots. Born in 1915 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, at the age of six, she lived through the Ku Klux Klan destroying her family’s home along with the 35-block “Black Wall … Read MoreOlivia J. Hooker (1915-2018)
Flemmie Kittrell was born on December 25, 1904 to James and Alice Kittrell in Henderson, North Carolina. Kittrell attended Hampton Institution in Virginia (which has since changed to Hampton University) and received her bachelors of science in 1928. Kittrell’s undergraduate degree was in home economics and after encouragement from her professors, Kittrell enrolled … Read MoreFlemmie Pansy Kittrell (1904-1980)
Maceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr., historian, professor, publisher, and academic administrator, was born July 4, 1943 in Norfolk, Virginia to Marguerite L. Britton, a Manheimer Pharmacy clerk, and Maceo C. Dailey, Sr., a Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard steel worker. Dailey was the oldest of eight children. At six, his family moved … Read MoreMaceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr. (1943-2015)
Muriel E. Poston is an accomplished botanist and dedicated educator working to increase underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Her extensive science career crosses many universities and institutions, including Howard University, and the National Science Foundation. Her expertise in botany lies in the flora of Central and South America, specifically Panama, Nicaragua, and Ecuador with … Read MoreMuriel E. Poston (1950- )
In 1935, Dr. Jesse Jarue Mark, Sr. was one of the first African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in botany in the United States. His work focused on the science of crop resilience and productivity, specifically on how temperature and climate affect alfalfa production. Mark … Read MoreJesse Jarue Mark, Sr. (1905-1971)
