The long-serving president of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Denis Sassou-Nguesso was born on November 23, 1943, in Edou. His parents were Julien Nguesso, a noted hunter-chief, and Emilienne Mouebara. Denis Sassou-Nguesso attended elementary school in Owando and was also initiated in the Mbochi tribal … Read MoreDenis Sassou-Nguesso (1943- )
Sir John George Melvin Compton was a Saint Lucian politician who became the nation’s first Prime Minister after independence in February 1979. After leading Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton served as Prime Minister three times. He co-founded the conservative United … Read MoreJohn Compton (1925–2007)
Kenneth Olden, a cell biologist, biochemist, and cancer researcher, is the founding dean at the School of Public Health of City University New York (CUNY). Born in 1938 in Parrottsville, Tennessee, Olden grew up in a rural community with his parents Matt and Augusta Olden … Read MoreKenneth Olden (1938- )
Businesswoman Ernesta Gertrude Forster, more commonly known as Ernesta Procope, was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 1923. The year of her birth is contested, as public records have her date of birth as February 9, 1923. Similarly, her family name also is … Read MoreErnesta Procope (1923-2021)
On May 20, 2019, Reverend Lakeesha Walrond, Ph.D., made history when she was appointed President of the New York Theological Seminary (NYTS), founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher’s College. Walrond is the first woman and first Black woman to serve as president of NYTS, … Read MoreLakeesha Walrond (1971- )
Karine Jean-Pierre is best known as the second Black woman (after Judy Smith in the George W. Bush White House), and the first openly gay woman, to ever hold the position of White House Principal Deputy Secretary. She began in that post in January 2021 … Read MoreKarine Jean-Pierre (1977- )
Akwaeke Emezi is part of a small but growing number of transgender Nigerian writers whose unique perspective and the rapidly growing audience for their novels have garnered them international literary acclaim. Emezi identifies as transgender and as an ogbanje. Transgender people do not identify with … Read MoreAkwaeke Emezi (1987- )
Vaudeville performer Esther Jones was known on stage by many names, including “Baby Esther,” “Little Esther,” “Farina’s Kid Sister,” and “Miniature Florence Mills,” is widely, although not universally, credited with being the inspiration for the Betty Boop cartoon character. Jones was born Esther Lee Jones … Read MoreEsther Jones (1918-1984)
Media critic Eric Deggans was born on November 6, 1965, in Washington, D.C. to Chuck Deggans and Carolyn Jean McClellan Deggans Williams, a life member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Deggans was reared, however, in Gary, Indiana, and graduated from Andrean High School, a … Read MoreEric Deggans (1965- )
Verdun S. Perry is a venture capitalist currently employed with Blackstone Strategic Partners, one of the world’s largest private equity funding firms principally in real estate. He also serves on the advisory board of numerous third-party funds, and is the Investment Committee chair for each … Read MoreVerdun Perry (1972- )
