Carol Johnson-Dean was the first black woman superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. She held that post from 1997 to 2003. Johnson-Dean was born 1948 to Mrs. Willie Rawls and Buddy Rawls. She grew up in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee about 50 miles northeast of Memphis. … Read MoreDr. Carol Johnson-Dean (1948-)
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-)
Kristen Nicole Hayden is the first African American woman to win a national diving championship. Born March 2, 1998 in Hillsborough, New Jersey, she is the second child of Kay and Glen Hayden. She trained in gymnastics and swimming until age ten, when she took … Read MoreKristen Nicole Hayden (1998- )
Clarice Evone Salone Phelps, a nuclear chemist was part of the research team responsible for the discovery of a new element, 117 also known as tennessine, was born in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and reared in the Edgehill Housing Projects in Nashville, Tennessee, by a … Read MoreClarice Evone Salone Phelps (1981- )
Charles Wesley Turnbull, sixth governor of the United States Virgin Islands, was born February 5, 1935, in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands of the United States, to John Wesley Turnbull and Ruth Ann Eliza Skelton Turnbull who were both immigrants from the British … Read MoreCharles Wesley Turnbull (1935- )
Ball handling wizard Elgin “Rabbit” Baylor was born Elgin Gay Baylor on September 16, 1934, in Washington, D.C. to John Wesley Baylor from Caroline County, Virginia, and Uzziel Lewis Baylor from Spotsylvania County, Virginia. His brothers were John L. Baylor and Kermit Baylor, and his … Read MoreElgin “Rabbit” Baylor (1934-2021)
The four century (1460-1860) transatlantic slave trade is responsible for the involuntary migration of 388,000 enslaved Africans to the United States according to historians’ best estimates. However, the U.S. has witnessed a much larger influx of voluntary African migration since the 1960s. Whether it was … Read MoreAfrican Immigration to the United States (1965- )
R&B composers, lyricists James Samuel “Jimmy Jam” Harris III (born June 6, 1959, in Minneapolis, Minnesota), and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956, in Omaha, Nebraska), were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the late 20th Century. Harris was a senior, and … Read MoreJimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1981- )
Lipps, Inc., a short-lived rhythm and blues, disco, and funk ensemble, was founded in 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Vocalist/ saxophonist Cynthia Johnson (born April 22, 1956, in St. Paul), who was the 1976 Miss Black Minnesota, led this ensemble and co-composed for the band while … Read MoreLipps, Inc. (1979-1985)
Sian Hayley Proctor is a geology professor, motivational speaker, pilot, artist, author, and spaceflight participant most noted for her flight on the civilian-funded Inspiration 4 Space Mission in September 2021. The flight was sponsored by U.S. technology billionaire Jared Isaacman to raise funds for St. … Read MoreSian Proctor (1970- )
