John Edward Reinhardt, ambassador and diplomat, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1920. After serving in World War II, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Knoxville College in 1939, a Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1947, and a Ph.D. in … Read MoreJohn Edward Reinhardt (1920- )
“Image Ownership: EneasMx” Politician, social and peace activist Piedad Córdoba was born in Medellin, Colombia, on January 25, 1955. She was the second of ten children of Zabulón Córdoba, an Afro-Colombian who rose from humble origins to become a sociology professor and university dean. … Read MorePiedad Esneda Córdoba Ruiz (1955- )
Poet, editor, diplomat, and cultural theorist Léon Damas was born on March 28, 1912, in Cayenne, French Guiana. He was the youngest of five children born to parents Ernest and Marie Aline Damas. After his mother’s death in 1913, young Léon and his siblings were … Read MoreLéon-Gontran Damas (1912-1978)
Cornelius Golightly at a Detroit School Board Meeting, Courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University In the following article Michigan State University professor John McClendon explores the remarkable life of little known early 20th century black intellectual Cornelius Golightly. Philosopher, teacher, … Read MoreDr. Cornelius Golightly (1917-1976): The Life of an Academic and Public Intellectual
Cornel West is one of the most recognizable and preeminent intellectuals of his generation. West has authored 19 books and edited another 13. He is best known for his book Race Matters (1994) and in his role as a public intellectual. West graduated Magna Cum … Read MoreCornel Ronald West (1953- )
Eileen Southern was among the first generation of musicologists focused on studying, preserving, and teaching the history and traditions of African American music. She was also the first female African American faculty member at Harvard University. Born Eileen Jackson in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, her … Read MoreEileen Jackson Southern (1920-2002)
Educator and Sociologist Charles Eric Lincoln was born June 23, 1924 in Athens, Alabama. After he was abandoned by his parents, Lincoln was raised by his maternal grandparents. He attended the Trinity School in Athens, an institution created by the New England-based Congregational Church to … Read MoreC. Eric Lincoln (1924-2000)
James Pierpont Comer, a leading black child psychiatrist and educational reformer, was born into a working class family in East Chicago, Indiana on September 25, 1934. Although his parents, Maggie and Hugh Comer, had little education themselves, they strongly supported their children’s education. All five … Read MoreJames P. Comer (1934- )
Frederick Douglass Patterson, renowned educator and founder of the United Negro College Fund, was born in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 1901. He was orphaned at the age of 2 and his older sister cared for him. Patterson attended Prairie View Normal and Industrial Institute … Read MoreFrederick D. Patterson (1901-1988)
Angela Davis, activist, educator, and scholar, was born on January 26, 1944, in the “Dynamite Hill” area of Birmingham, Alabama. The area received that name because so many African American homes in this middle class neighborhood had been bombed over the years by the Ku … Read MoreAngela Davis (1944-)
