Kyrie Andrew Irving is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Cleveland (Ohio) Cavaliers. Since joining the NBA in 2011, Irving has established himself as one of the league’s elite point guards. His resume includes being a four-time … Read MoreKyrie Andrew Irving (1992- )
Image Ownership: Keith Allison Klay Alexander Thompson is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Golden State Warriors. Thompson was born February 8, 1990 in Los Angeles, California to Mychal Thompson, a former NBA player, and Julie Leslie … Read MoreKlay Alexander Thompson (1990- )
Raphael Abraham Frank Mensah (1924-1990s), a schoolmaster and theologian, played a foundational role in bringing Mormonism to Ghana. Born in 1924 in Winneba, Gold Coast, as the British colony of Ghana was then called, he was the eldest of five children, three sons and two … Read MoreRaphael Abraham Frank Mensah (1924-1990s)
Joseph William “Billy” Johnson, an import officer for the state metal industries of Ghana, played a foundational role in establishing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that African nation in the 1960s. Johnson was born on December 17, 1934, in Lagos, Nigeria. … Read MoreJoseph William “Billy” Johnson (1934–2012)
In 1930 Bessie Stringfield became the first African American woman to ride her motorcycle across the United States solo. Her feat was credited with breaking down barriers for both women and African-American motorcyclists. Born Betsy Leonora Ellis on February 9, 1911, in Kingston, Jamaica, she … Read MoreBessie Stringfield (1911-1993)
“Image Courtesy of the Randolph Carter Family” Civil rights leader and political activist Randolph Warren “Randy” Carter of Seattle, Washington, was born November 15, 1913 in Riverside, California to Charles and Hettie Carter, the youngest son of four boys. Carter was a track star in … Read MoreRandolph Warren Carter (1913-1970)
Benedetto Manasseri, an Italian of African descent, was born near Messina, Italy to Cristoforo and Diana Manasseri in 1526. His parents, captured as slaves from Africa in the early 16th century, were brought to San Fratello, near Messina. They converted to Catholicism and, due to … Read MoreSt. Benedict the Moor (1526-1589)
The Oblate Sisters of Providence was the first successful order of Roman Catholic nuns of African descent. Establishing an order of black sisters first started in Kentucky in 1812 under the encouragement of a Belgian priest, Father Charles Nerinckx. Nerinckx helped found the Friends of … Read MoreThe Oblate Sisters of Providence (1829- )
St. Augustine Catholic Church of New Orleans was the first black church in Louisiana and the first black Catholic church in the United States. In the 1830s a group of free African-American New Orleanians began organizing to create a Catholic church in Tremé, a historically … Read MoreSt. Augustine Catholic Church, New Orleans, Louisiana (1841- )
Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church was the first African American Catholic Church in the United States. The building, located on the corner of Calvert and Pleasant Street in Baltimore, Maryland, was originally constructed in 1836 for the congregation of the First Universalist Church. By 1837, … Read MoreSaint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Baltimore, Maryland (1863- )
