U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran Edward Lucien Toppins was a fighter pilot credited with shooting down four German enemy fighter aircraft during aerial combat, a distinction shared with two other Tuskegee Airmen. Toppins was born in Mississippi on June 12, 1915. His … Read MoreEdward Toppins (1915-1946)
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr., one of the most commanding American actors in television and film, as well as a producer, director, and social activist, was born on May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, the only child to Louis Cameron Gossett Sr. and Hellen Rebecca … Read MoreLouis Gossett Jr. (1936-2024)
King of Zydeco and Louisiana Blues Clifton Chenier, singer, pianist, harmonicist, lyricist, and composer, was born on June 25, 1925, in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana to Joseph Chenier, an accordionist and sharecropper, and Olivia Kennerson Chenier, who introduced him to the rudiments of playing … Read MoreClifton Chenier (1925-1987)
Rayne Dakota (Dak) Prescott is a National Football League quarterback currently playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Prescott was born on July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana to parents Nathaniel and Peggy Prescott. Prescott attended Haughton High School in Haughton, Louisiana and then accepted a scholarship … Read MoreRayne Dakota (Dak) Prescott (1993- )
The case of the Jena Six exposed racial injustice and inequality following an incident involving six male African American teenagers. The arrest of the students, all enrolled at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, ignited a national movement to address longstanding injustices in what has … Read MoreJena Six (2006)
George Metcalfe was a civil rights leader in Natchez, Mississippi, who led one of the most successful yet little-known movements in the Deep South. Metcalfe was born on September 20, 1911, in Franklin, Louisiana, to parents Ernest Metcalfe and Alberta Simon Metcalfe. He was a … Read MoreGeorge Metcalfe (1911-1989)
Dr. John Bowman (“J.B.”) Banks was the first Black physician to practice medicine in Natchez, Mississippi. He recruited Dr. Albert Woods Dumas, the second Black physician to practice in the city. Together with four other businessmen, they founded an African American bank in Natchez called … Read MoreJohn Bowman Banks (1862-1911)
Addie Fletcher Booth was an educator, civil rights activist, and labor organizer. She was born Addie De Vault on October 29, 1902 in Independence, Texas to Reuben and Anis Gee De Vault. Although very little is known of her early life, she enrolled in Prairie … Read MoreAddie Fletcher Booth (1902-1996)
Diana Bajoie is known as a pioneer of African American politics in the state of Louisiana. She is a former member of the Louisiana legislature and the first African American woman elected to serve in the Louisiana state senate. She is also the first woman … Read MoreDiana E. Bajoie (1948– )
Charles Howard Wright was a Detroit physician and founder of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. He was born on September 18, 1918, in Dothan, Alabama and attended the State Teachers College (later known as Alabama State College, and now Alabama State … Read MoreCharles H. Wright (1918-2002)
