Gospel singer, songwriter, and choir director Kirk Dewayne Franklin was born Kirk Smith in Fort Worth, Dallas, Texas, on January 26, 1970. His parents were teenagers, and his mother abandoned him at the age of 3, leaving him with his great Aunt Gertrude Franklin. Gertrude … Read MoreKirk Franklin (1970- )
Gabrielle Gorman is a film writer, producer, director, and activist. Gorman was born on March 7, 1998 in Los Angeles, California, and is the twin sister of poet Amanda Gorman. The sisters and their sibling were raised by single mother Joan Wicks, a sixth grade … Read MoreGabrielle Gorman (1998- )
Alana Mayo is a film production executive who was born in New York on May 2, 1985. Mayo was raised in Chicago, but she returned to New York after high school to attended Columbia University. She double majored in English and Film Studies, and graduated … Read MoreAlana Mayo (1985- )
Kevin Darnell Hart is a comedian, actor, and producer. Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 6, 1979, to Nancy Hart and Henry Witherspoon. He graduated from George Washington High School and briefly attended The Community College of Philadelphia. Hart lived in New York … Read MoreKevin Darnell Hart (1979- )
On July 1, 2020, Harry Elam Jr. became the 16th President of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, one of the country’s top liberal arts colleges. Elam was born in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts and is the older brother of Guru (1968-2010), founder … Read MoreHarry J. Elam Jr. (1957- )
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- )
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- )
Barry Jenkins is a film director, writer, producer, and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Moonlight as well as the Golden Globe Award. His screen adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk received critical acclaim and … Read MoreBarry Jenkins (1979- )
Wayland Rudd was an American-born actor who moved to the Soviet Union in 1932 as part of a group of 22 African Americans called the “Black and White Film Club.” Before moving to the Soviet Union, Rudd gained recognition for his roles in The Emperor Jones and Othello and appeared in a … Read MoreWayland Rudd (1900-1952)
John Ridley IV is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist known best for the 2013 film, 12 Years a Slave, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Ridley was born in October 1965, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to an ophthalmologist father, … Read MoreJohn Ridley IV (1965- )
