The Arnells, a female doo-wop ensemble that also performed as The Teenettes Variations, were all from all-girls Joseph Battin High School in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey. The short-lived but talented group, established in 1963, met in the high school corridors. They rehearsed after school … Read MoreThe Arnells (1963-1964)
Dr. Lisa DeNell Cook is an economist and a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. She is the first African American woman to sit on the Board. Cook was born in 1964 and raised in Milledgeville, Georgia. She is one of three daughters of … Read MoreLisa D. Cook (1964- )
Kourtney Gibson is an American entrepreneur and president of Loop Capital, a private investment banking firm. Gibson is also a member of the Board of Directors of Lululemon Athletica and MarketAxess, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami. Gibson was born on … Read MoreKourtney Gibson (1981- )
Emilia Strong Sykes is a Democratic politician now serving as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. She was sworn into that post on January 3, 2023. Sykes was born on January 4, 1986, in Akron, Ohio, and grew up on the city’s west … Read MoreEmilia Sykes (1986- )
Herschel Junior Walker, a former football running back, was the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. Walker was born on March 3, 1962, to Willis and Christine Walker in Wrightsville, Georgia. Walker attended Johnson County High School in Wrightsville. While … Read MoreHerschel Junior Walker (1962-)
Emma Harris was a multi-talented African American cultural influencer in Europe, the Russian Empire (later the Soviet Union) as well as the Middle East. Harris was born into a poor family in Georgia on October 7, 1871. Her parents were washerwoman Sarah Green and millworker … Read MoreEmma Harris (1871-1940)
Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko, a physician-scientist, was born in 1968 in Iseyin, Oyo, Nigeria. He attended elementary and high school in Oyo where his academic discipline was directed by his father, a Yoruba businessman, to be either a physician or an Islamic cleric. Owonikoko is the … Read MoreTaofeek Kunle Owonikoko (1968 -)
Kwanza Hall, recognized for his leadership as a civil servant and business executive, was elected in 2020 to complete the term of the late U.S. Representative John R. Lewis, civil rights symbol and 17-term congressman. As a public servant, a large portion of his career … Read MoreKwanza Hall (1971-)
Bernette Joshua Johnson is a retired Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. She is the first African American woman to serve on the Louisiana Supreme Court and the second female to hold the position of Chief Justice. Born in Lemannville, Louisiana on June 17, … Read MoreJustice Bernette Joshua Johnson
Kelly Miller Smith Sr, named after the prominent educator and civil rights leader Kelly Miller, was a Baptist preacher, author, and civil rights activist best known for participating in the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, Tennessee. Smith was born on October 28, 1920, in the … Read MoreKelly Miller Smith Sr. (1920-1984)
