Clara Belle Drisdale, the first African American to graduate from New Mexico State University, was born to sharecroppers Isaac and Carrie Melinda Moppins Drisdale in LaGrange, Texas on October 29, 1885. She was first educated in a one room country school house near LaGrange but … Read MoreClara Belle Drisdale Williams (1885-1994)
Ray Douglas McDonald was a running back who played for the Washington Redskins in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons, 1967 and 1968. McDonald was also one of the first gay athletes in the NFL. Ray McDonald was born on May 7, 1944 … Read MoreRay Douglas McDonald (1944-1993)
James E. Walton, longtime professor of English at California State University, Fresno, was born on September 13, 1944 in Bessemer, Alabama to Willie Walton, Sr. and Mary Woods Cutts. Walton attended a two-room schoolhouse in Alabama. At age three, his grandmother taught him to read … Read MoreJames E. Walton (1944-2019)
Julia Pearl Hughes (Coleman-Robinson) was the first African American woman to successfully own and operate her own drugstore. Hughes was born to John and Mary Hughes in Melville Township, Alamance County, North Carolina. She attended the local schools and graduated in 1893 from Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College) … Read MoreJulia Pearl Hughes (1873-1950)
Cast of A Different World, Second Season Image Ownership: Public domain A Different World, which aired for six seasons on the NBC Network from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993, was a spin-off from the hugely popular The Cosby Show. The show, which took place … Read MoreA Different World (1987-1993)
Four-star general and precision flier Lloyd W. Newton was born December 24, 1942 in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the fourth of seven children of John H. Newton, a farmer, and Annie Newton. Finishing Jasper High School in Ridgeland, he majored in mechanical engineering at Tennessee State … Read MoreLloyd Warren Newton (1942- )
Sunday School Class at Blackdom, New Mexico Image Ownership: Public domain In the early 1900s, the Pecos Valley Region of Southeastern New Mexico Territory experienced an economic boom because of an influx of settlers into the area. African American families were among those settlers. They … Read MoreBlackdom, New Mexico (1903-1930)
Emmett Hercules Holmes was one of Spokane, Washington’s first African American residents, as well as an important politician in the young city. Holmes was born on July 7, 1872, near Vicksburg, Mississippi. By the summer of 1888, his mother was interested in moving to the … Read MoreEmmett Hercules Holmes (1872-1948)
Image Ownership: Public domain Maurice E. Washington is a Reno, Nevada businessman and pastor who is best known as a former Republican member of the Nevada State Senate. Washington was born on July 25, 1956, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He moved to Nevada where he … Read MoreMaurice E. Washington (1956- )
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Gustavo “Gus” Fring on the AMC TV series Breaking Bad, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award and was nominated for an outstanding Supporting … Read MoreGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (1958– )