Actor, dancer, singer Suzzanne Douglas Cobb was born on April 12, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois, to Lois Mae Thompson Douglas and Donald Douglas. She and her siblings were reared in the Altgeld Gardens Homes public housing complex on the city’s far south side. Douglas graduated … Read MoreSuzzanne Douglas (1957-2021)
Lorraine Patricia Baa, commentator, entrepreneur, and cancer cure advocate was born in Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, on February 1, 1953, to Orlando J. Baa, Sr. from the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) and Rosalia Potter Baa from Anegada, British Virgin Islands. Her siblings … Read MoreLorraine Patricia Baa (1953-2021)
Audrey Smedley, one of the nation’s first African American women anthropologists, was born in Detroit in 1930, the eldest daughter of Ulysses and Mattie Smedley. While raising six children, her mother maintained a career as a beautician; her father owned and operated a gas station … Read MoreAudrey Smedley (1930-2020)
Mabel Byrd, a life-long educator, researcher, and civil rights activist, was the first African American to attend the University of Oregon. Born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1895, Byrd was the youngest daughter of Robert Byrd, a bricklayer, and Jennie Byrd. She moved with … Read MoreMabel Janet Byrd (1895-1988)
Sandra Hollins is the first African American woman to serve in the Utah State Legislature. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 11, 1970 to Iola Robinson-Seals and Freddie Seals II. In 1988, Hollins graduated from McDonough #35 High School and enrolled in … Read MoreSandra Hollins (1970- )
Danita Johnson is a business executive affiliated with the WNBA, NBA, and NBA G leagues. In December 2020, Johnson was appointed as the third woman and the first Black person to serve as a Major League Soccer (MLS) team president of business operations, for the … Read MoreDanita Johnson (1984- )
Magazine editor Susan L. Taylor was born in Harlem, New York on January 23, 1946. Her parents, Lawrence, from St. Kitts, and Violet, from Trinidad, came to New York in the 1920s and owned a clothing store for thirty years until it closed in the … Read MoreSusan L. Taylor (1946- )
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who represents Ohio’s 3rd congressional district, is a former consultant and business owner. She was the first woman Democratic House Leader in Ohio House of Representatives. Representative Beatty was born Joyce Birdsong Hannah on March 12, 1950, in Dayton, Ohio to a … Read MoreJoyce Beatty (1950- )
Congresswoman Lucia “Lucy” McBath, is a wife, mother, author, and activist for social justice. Lucia Kay Holman was born in Joliet, Illinois on June 1, 1960. Her mother Wilma worked as a nurse, and her father, Lucien Holman, was a dentist. Her father also owned … Read MoreLucia Kay (Holman) McBath (1960- )
Pauline Elizabeth Short Robinson, a long-time educator, was the first black librarian to be hired in Denver, Colorado. Born on January 31, 1915 in Gay, Oklahoma, Robinson’s family emphasized the importance of education at a young age. Her grandfather taught her how to read before … Read MorePauline Short Robinson (1915-1997)
