Lisa Deshaun Leslie is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) for her twelve-year career from 1997 to 2009. She is a two-time WNBA champion, three-time WNBA MVP, and a four-time Olympic gold … Read MoreLisa Deshaun Leslie (1972- )
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress and producer. Whitfield is best known for her performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical drama film, The Josephine Baker Story (1991), where she won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries and a … Read MoreLynn Whitfield (1953- )
Oscar Juliuss Grant III was a resident of Oakland, California, and unfortunately is best known for being killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2009. Grant was born to Oscar Grant Jr. and … Read MoreOscar Juliuss Grant, III (1986-2009)
“Image Ownership: Marvin Perkins” Marvin Perkins is an accomplished recording vocal artist, a sought-after public speaker, and a leader in the effort to correct misunderstanding and incorrect assumptions about blacks, especially in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perkins was born in 1963 … Read MoreMarvin Perkins (1963– )
Herb Cawthorne, teacher, community leader, and news reporter, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Roosevelt and Edythe Odrene Cawthorne in June 1947. He is the youngest of four children, including John, Elsa, and Edythe. He attended North Des Moines High School in Omaha from 1962 … Read MoreHerb Cawthorne (1947- )
Luis Quintero was a one of the original founders of the City of Los Angeles, then known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles, on September 4, 1781. Quintero, described in Spanish records as a free negro, was a tailor from Los Álamos, Sonora. He was … Read MoreLuis Quintero (1726-1810)
“Image Ownership: Daniel Benavides” Lupita Amondi Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress who is best known for her role as the character Patsey in the Academy Award-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. Nyong’o was born on March 1, 1983, in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents … Read MoreLupita Amondi Nyong’o (1982– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She was born on September 11, 1970, in Washington, D.C., to Bernice Henson, a corporate manager at Woodward and Lothrop clothing store, and Boris Lawrence Henson, a janitor and metal fabricator. Henson … Read MoreTaraji Penda Henson (1970– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” In December 1980, shortly after former California Governor Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, the Institute for Contemporary Studies, a California-based public policy institute (think tank) sponsored the “Black Alternatives Conference” at the Fairmont Hotel in San … Read More(1980) Thomas Sowell, “Politics and Opportunity: Background”
“Image Ownership: Photofest” Dr. William H. “Bob” Bailey, Las Vegas entertainer, entrepreneur, and civil rights activist, was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 14, 1927, to John and Margaret Bailey. Bailey received a B.A. in Business Law at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, sometime in … Read MoreWilliam H. “Bob” Bailey (1927–2014)
