Howard Nathaniel Lee made history in 1969 as the first African American to be elected mayor of any majority-white city in the South. Lee was born on July 28, 1934, in Lithonia, Georgia, to sharecroppers Howard Lee and Lou Temple who had six other children. … Read MoreHoward Nathaniel Lee (1934- )
Vince Lamar Carter Jr, a former National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player and T.V. producer, was born on January 26, 1977, in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is the son of Michelle and Vince Carter Sr, who divorced when he was seven. Carter attended Mainland High … Read MoreVince Lamar Carter Jr. (1977- )
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) star and, more recently, a cancer survivor. Born on February 8, 1970, in Chesapeake, Virginia, to Alonzo Mourning Sr and Julia Hadnot, Mourning’s talent on the high school basketball team was undeniable. His junior … Read MoreAlonzo Harding Mourning Jr (1970- )
Charles Luther Sifford, the first Black player to participate in the PGA Tour and the first named to the World Golf Hall of Fame, was born on June 2, 1922, in Charlotte, North Carolina. His parents were Pasco Sifford from Charlotte and Eliza Sifford Darkins … Read MoreCharles Luther Sifford (1922-2015)
The Durham Desegregation Movement was a multi-year civil rights campaign in Durham, North Carolina, between 1960 and 1964. On February 8, 1960, seven days after the Greensboro Sit-Ins occurred, seventeen Black North Carolina College (Now North Carolina Central University) students staged sit-ins at three White-only … Read MoreThe Durham Desegregation Movement (1960-1964)
Gospel musician, lyricist, and composer Bishop Rance Lee Allen was born on November 20, 1948, in Monroe, Michigan, to Thomas Allen from Nash County, North Carolina, and Emma Pearl Allen McKinney Mendez from Wiggins, Mississippi. Rance had six sisters, Anita Marie Allen Rocker, Judy Rocker, … Read MoreRance Lee Allen (1948-2020)
Choreographer, dancer, and teacher Lorraine Graves was born Lorraine Elizabeth Graves on October 5, 1957, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Tommy E. Graves Jr., founder and CEO of Graves Funeral Home, and Mildred Odom Graves, a public school teacher. Lorraine had one brother, Tommy E. Graves … Read MoreLorraine Graves (1957-2024)
Alonzo Logwone Mitz was a National Football League (NFL) defensive end who played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks and the Cincinnati Bengals. Mitz was born on June 5, 1963, in Henderson, North Carolina, and raised by his mother Rosa Lee Winbush, and his grandparents. Mitz … Read MoreAlonzo Mitz (1963- )
Charles Richard Drew was a medical researcher, surgeon, and the first African American to be appointed as a medical examiner for the American Board of Surgery. His research and work led to the development of processing and storing plasma in blood banks. Drew was born … Read MoreCharles Drew (1904-1950)
Offiong Ekanem Ejindu is a Nigerian architect, philanthropist, and businesswoman born in Ibadan, Nigeria in June 1962 to Professor Sylvester Joseph Una and Obonganwan Ekpa Una. Princess Fifi, reputedly a billionaire, is an influential philanthropist, “ranked as one of the African female pioneers in the … Read MorePrincess Fifi Ejindu (1962- )
