Dr. John Francis is a conservationist, scholar, educator, and best-selling author. He holds a Ph.D. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Francis is perhaps best known for forsaking motorized vehicle transport to instead travel the country by foot, … Read MoreJohn Francis (1946- )
The novelist William Edward Demby Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Christmas day, 1922, to William and Gertrude Demby. He was raised in their family of seven children in the Fairywood district of Pittsburgh’s West Side. The family moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, shortly after Demby’s graduation … Read MoreWilliam Demby (1922-2013)
Born Arch Colson Whitehead on November 6, 1969, novelist Colson Whitehead spent his formative years in Manhattan, New York with his parents, Arch and Mary Anne Whitehead, who owned a recruiting firm, and three siblings. Of his childhood, he has said that he preferred reading … Read MoreArch Colson “Colson” Whitehead (1969- )
Jacques Roumain (Born Jean-Baptiste Roumain) was a Haitian author, poet, novelist, essayist, political activist, and diplomat born on June 4, 1907. He was one of the more famous twentieth century Haitian intellectuals. Jacques Roumain was born in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. He was the first … Read MoreJean Baptiste Roumain (Jacques) / Roumain, Jacques (1907-1944)
Edward Regan “Eddie” Murphy is an American comedian, actor, writer, singer, and producer. Murphy was born on April 3, 1961, in Brooklyn, New York, to Lillian Murphy, a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer who was also an amateur comedian and … Read MoreEddie Murphy (1961- )
Melissa Harris-Perry is an American author, professor, television host, and political commentator who focuses on African American political issues. Harris-Perry has written for The Nation, in addition to penning her two award-winning books, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (2013), and Barbershops, … Read MoreMelissa Harris-Perry (1973- )
Deborah Prothrow-Stith is a nationally known leader for public health awareness and violence prevention in youth. Her 1991 book, Deadly Consequences: How Violence is Destroying Our Teenage Population and a Plan to Begin Solving the Problem, was one of the first to address the topic … Read MoreDeborah Prothrow-Stith (1954– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer, journalist, educator, and a national correspondent for The Atlantic. His articles, regarding such topics as social, political, and cultural issues, have been featured in national publications, including the Washington Post, Time, and The New Yorker. Coates’s … Read MoreTa-Nehisi Coates (1975– )
Frances Cress Welsing, a psychiatrist best known for writing The Isis Papers, was born Frances Luella Cress in Chicago, Illinois, on March 18, 1935. Welsing, who was the child of physician Henry Cress and teacher Ida Mae Griffen, grew up the middle of three daughters. … Read MoreFrances Cress Welsing (1935–2016)
Award-winning broadcast journalist and author Belva Davis made history in 1966 when she was hired by San Francisco, California’s Channel 5, KPIX-TV, becoming the first female African American television news reporter on the West Coast. Born Belvagene Melton on October 13, 1932 in Monroe, Louisiana, … Read MoreBelva Davis (1932- )
