Screenwriter, filmmaker, actor, and social critic Carlton Moss was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 14, 1909. The son of Frederick Douglass Moss, a coachman for an affluent family, and Sarah Vincent Moss, he grew up both in New Jersey and North Carolina. As … Read MoreCarlton Moss (1909-1997)
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an actress and talk show host. Pinkett was born on September 18, 1971, to Adrienne Banfield-Jones and Robsol Pinkett, Jr. in Baltimore, Maryland. Pinkett’s mother named her after her favorite soap opera actress, Jada Rowland. Her parents divorced at a … Read MoreJada Koren Pinkett Smith (1971- )
Toni Michele Braxton is an R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Braxton was born on October 7, 1967, to Michael Conrad Braxton Sr, a Methodist clergyman, and Evelyn Jackson Braxton, opera singer, and cosmetologist, in Severn, Maryland. Braxton is the eldest of six siblings. Growing up, … Read MoreToni Michele Braxton (1967- )
Scientist Karen Elizabeth Nelson was born in Jamaica in 1950 and migrated to the United States in the 1970s. She received a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, in 1972 and a Doctor of Philosophy … Read MoreKaren Elizabeth Nelson (1950- )
Carmelo Kyam Anthony is an American Basketball Player. Anthony was born on May 29, 1984, to Carmelo Iriarte and Mary Anthony in Brooklyn, New York City. Anthony lived in the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn. His father died from cancer when he was two … Read MoreCarmelo Kyam Anthony (1984- )
Nick Aaron Ford, critic, pedagogic, and activist, was born on August 4, 1904, in Ridgeway (part of Columbia), South Carolina, to Nick Aaron Ford, Sr., a laborer who was born enslaved, and Carrie Ford, a substitute teacher. Nick was introduced to reading by his mother … Read MoreNick Aaron Ford (1904-1982)
Political Scientist George James Fleming was born in Bassein Triangle, Christiansted, St. Croix, Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) on February 15, 1904 to parents Alexander Fleming and Ernestine Jackson Fleming. His primary education began at the Moravian Day School at the Centre Mission … Read MoreG. James Fleming (1904-1990)
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is a Haitian American businesswoman, attorney, and politician, who currently serves as the U.S. Representative from the state of Florida’s 20th congressional district. She was born on January 25, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. Her stepfather, Dr. Gabriel Smith, and her mother, Marie … Read MoreSheila Cherfilus-McCormick (1979- )
Program Director of the James Webb Space Telescope project at NASA, Gregory Robinson, was a part of the historical event that took place on Christmas Day of 2021. Upon an Ariane 5 rocket at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, the $10 billion telescope … Read MoreGregory Robinson (1960- )
Over a century before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened colleges and universities to all students, public and private colleges were established in the United States to meet the educational needs of African Americans. These institutions, now called Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), … Read MoreBlack Collegiate Education in the United States (1828-2019)
