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 at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia, starred Lisa Bonet as … Read MoreA Different World (1987-1993)
Andrew Phillip Chambers, Jr., was a retired Lieutenant General in the United States Army. His brother, Lawrence Chambers, was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Together, the Chambers brothers are the first Black siblings to hold flag ranks in the United States military. … Read MoreAndrew P. Chambers, Jr. (1931-2017)
Roscoe Robinson Jr., the first African American four-star general in the U.S. Army, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928. He received a bachelor’s in military engineering from The United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1951 and later attended the U.S. Army Command … Read MoreRoscoe Robinson, Jr. (1928-1993)
Leo A. Brooks Sr. is a retired major general formerly in the United States Army. Brooks was born August 9, 1932, in Alexandria, Virginia, to the Reverend Houston G. Brooks and Evelyn Lemon Brooks. His grandparents were of mixed African American and American Indian ancestry. Beginning in … Read MoreLeo Austin Brooks, Sr. (1932- )
Ryan S. Green is a bass-baritone opera singer. Born April 1, 1986, in Suffolk, Virginia, his parents, Cecil and Valerie Green, separated when he was a child. The divorce forced his mother, an Air Force veteran, to move her children to a crime-ridden housing project in … Read MoreRyan Speedo Green (1986- )
Alfred L. Cralle was an African American businessman and inventor best known for inventing the ice cream scoop in 1897. Cralle was born on September 4, 1866, in Kenbridge, Lunenburg County, Virginia, just after the end of the American Civil War. He attended local schools and worked for his father in … Read MoreAlfred L. Cralle (1866–1920)
John Brown was a controversial figure who played a major role in leading the United States to civil war. He was a devout Christian and lifelong abolitionist who tried to eradicate slavery from the United States through increasingly radical means. Unlike most abolitionists, Brown was … Read MoreJohn Brown (1800-1859)
William E. “Kip” Ward is a former 4-star general. War was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 6, 1949, to Richard Isiah Ward and Phyllis Mary Ward. He graduated from Morgan State University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a distinguished Army … Read MoreWilliam E. Ward (1949- )
Larry Spencer is a retired Air Force 4-star General who began his military service in 1971 as a eighteen-year-old private. Spencer was born on August 1, 1954 in Washington, D.C. to Alfonzo Spencer, a disabled career Army mechanic, and Selma Gaines Spencer. After graduating from Central High School … Read MoreLarry Oneil Spencer (1954- )
Dr. John Francis is a conservationist, scholar, educator, and best-selling author. He holds a Ph.D. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Francis is perhaps best known for forsaking motorized vehicle transport to instead travel the country by foot, … Read MoreJohn Francis (1946- )
