Richard Dean Parsons, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Time Warner Inc., is the current Chairman of Citigroup. Despite his working class origins, Parsons’ achievements have been recognized by the African American community and he has become an influential role model for racial uplift. Born … Read MoreRichard D. Parsons (1948- )
J. Kenneth Blackwell, better known as Ken Blackwell, served as Ohio’s Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. As a member of the Republican Party, he consistently advocated a conservative platform. Born on February 28, 1948, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Blackwell graduated from Xavier … Read MoreJohn Kenneth Blackwell (1948- )
Scholar and historian Helen Grey Edmonds was the first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree from Ohio State University and the first black woman to second the nomination for a candidate for President of the United States. Edmonds was born December 3, 1911 … Read MoreHelen Grey Edmonds (1911-1995)
Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, was the sixth black woman to win the Miss America title. Harold was born on February 20, 1980 in Urbana, Illinois, the daughter of James Harold, a businessman and athletic director, and Fannie Harold, a college counselor and foster parent … Read MoreErika Harold (1980- )
Grant Reynolds was a civic leader, civil rights activist, World War II chaplain, attorney, and educator. He was best known as a leading force in ending segregation in the United States Armed Forces. Reynolds was born July 29, 1908 in Key West, Florida to Emma … Read MoreGrant Reynolds (1908-2004)
John Willis Menard, abolitionist, author, journalist and politician, was born in 1838 in Kaskaskia, Illinois, to French Creole parents. He was the first African American elected to Congress, but was not seated after a dispute over the election results. Menard attended Iberia College, an abolitionist … Read MoreJohn Willis Menard (1838-1893)
Alphonso R. Jackson cultivated a three-decade career in public service that included an appointment as head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the administration of his long-time friend, President George W. Bush. Born in Marshall, Texas, on September 9, 1945, … Read MoreAlphonso R. Jackson (1945- )
After witnessing poverty and discrimination in Depression-era Georgia, Louis Wade Sullivan committed his career to education and public service, rising to become Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George H.W. Bush. He also was the founder and long-time president of Morehouse College School … Read MoreLouis Wade Sullivan (1933- )
Rev. Archibald Carey, Sr. a political activist, writer, orator, and religious leader, used his talents to help Chicago’s African American community. Carey was a minister for African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Churches in Georgia, Florida and finally, Chicago. Archibald James Carey Sr. was born in Atlanta, … Read MoreArchibald J. Carey, Sr. (1868-1931)
Black and Tan Republicans were African Americans in the Reconstruction-era South who were loyal to the Republican Party. When the Republican Party was founded in 1854, few African Americans joined. By the time of the election of Abraham Lincoln, the Party began to attract support … Read MoreBlack and Tan Republicans
