Debbye Turner (Bell), the third African American woman to win the Miss America crown, was born on September 19, 1965 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is an American veterinarian, talk show host, and former beauty queen. She was Miss America 1990. Bell is the daughter of … Read MoreDebbye Turner (1965- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Louis Jordan, alto saxophonist, vocalist, and recording artist is considered by many to be an under-recognized trailblazer in the early foundations of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Jordan was one of the first African American musicians in the 1940s to crossover from the … Read MoreLouis Jordan (1908-1975)
New York Times bestselling author Everette “E” Lynn Harris was born June 20, 1955, in Flint, Michigan. Openly homosexual, Harris was best known for his depictions of gay African American men who were concealing or “closeting” their sexuality. Although he did not participate in gay … Read MoreEverette “E” Lynn Harris (1955-2009)
Philander Smith is a private liberal arts college in Little Rock, Arkansas and is known as a Historically black college/university (HBCU). Established originally as Walden Seminary in 1877 by the United Methodist Church, the school was named after the first Freedmen’s society secretary, Dr. J.M … Read MorePhilander Smith College (1877- )
Rodney E. Slater, former cabinet member, attorney, and state government official, was born in Marianna, Arkansas, on February 23, 1955. In 1977, Slater graduated from Eastern Michigan University. He earned his law degree in 1980 from the University of Arkansas. In 1980, Slater became the … Read MoreRodney Slater (1955- )
Haki R. Madhubuti is a poet, professor, and founder of Third World Press, the nation’s oldest publisher of Black thought and literature. Madhubuti was born Don L. Lee in Little Rock, Arkansas, on February 23, 1942. After a move to Detroit, his father abandoned the … Read MoreHaki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee) (1942- )
Janie Rogella Washington was the wife of James W. Washington, Jr. (1911-2000), an internationally-known Northwest artist. A Seattle nurse, she shared and inspired the spirituality that shaped his art. One of 12 children, Janie Rogella Miller was born near Henderson, Texas to Freeman Miller and … Read MoreJanie Rogella Washington (1908-2000)
Nudie Williams was among the first historians to research the free-born antebellum population of African Americans in Oklahoma and Arkansas. He was also one of the first three African Americans admitted to graduate studies in the History Department at Oklahoma State University and the third … Read MoreNudie Eugene Williams (1936-2003)
Juanita Jackson Mitchell was a civil rights leader, community activist, and lawyer born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to Lillie May (Carroll) Jackson and Keiffer Jackson. She had two sisters, Virginia and Marion and one brother. Juanita and her family frequently moved across the South at … Read MoreJuanita Jackson Mitchell (1913- 1992)
Beverly Loraine Greene, believed to be the first African American woman architect in the United States, was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 4, 1915. She grew up in Chicago and was raised by her father, James A. Greene, a lawyer, and her mother, Vera … Read MoreBeverly Loraine Greene (1915-1957)
