Orchestral pianist, violinist, conductor, composer, and arranger of the Swing to Bebop eras, Teddy Wilson was born Theodore Shaw Wilson on November 24, 1912, in Austin, Texas. He and his brother Gus Wilson, however, were reared on the campus of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), … Read MoreTeddy Wilson (1912-1986)
Pamela Sutton-Wallace is a healthcare executive. In 2022, she was appointed COO of Yale New Haven Health, Connecticut’s largest and most comprehensive healthcare system. Wallace was born in September 1969. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and African American Studies from … Read MorePamela Sutton-Wallace (1969-)
Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. is an academic fellow of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Celigny, Switzerland, and an activist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and grew up in the United Methodist Church in Bradenton, Florida. He graduated from Southeast High School in the … Read MorePaul Timothy Roberts Sr. (1963- )
Daniel Robert Smith was the last surviving child of a formerly enslaved American. He was born on March 11, 1932, in Winsted, Connecticut, to Abram A. B. Smith and Clara Wheeler Smith, a domestic worker. Daniel was the fifth of six children. Smith was skilled … Read MoreDaniel Robert Smith (1932-2022)
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an actress and producer known for her depictions of powerful women in history on stage, television, and in major movies. Bassett was born on August 16, 1958, in New York, New York. After her father, Daniel Benjamin Bassett, and her mother, … Read MoreAngela Bassett (1958- )
The Arnells, a female doo-wop ensemble that also performed as The Teenettes Variations, were all from all-girls Joseph Battin High School in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey. The short-lived but talented group, established in 1963, met in the high school corridors. They rehearsed after school … Read MoreThe Arnells (1963-1964)
Alondra Nelson, lecturer, social scientist, administrator/organizer, was born on April 22, 1968, in Bethesda, Maryland, to career Navy parents Robert Nelson and Delores Nelson. Reared in New Orleans, she has Jamaican roots. Alondra’s siblings are Andrea Nelson, Robert Nelson, and Anthony Nelson. However, Alondra’s earlier … Read MoreAlondra Nelson (1968- )
Valerae Olive Lewis, a leader in Orthopedic Oncology, was born in 1966 in White Plains, New York, to Carl Norman Lewis, a physician from Harlem with roots in Antigua, and Dorothe Williams Lewis. Valerae had two sisters, Stephanie Lewis, and Carole Lewis. Lewis received a … Read MoreValerae Olive Lewis (1966-)
Lani Guinier was a legal scholar, civil rights lawyer, author, and the first woman of color to obtain a position as a tenure-track professor at Harvard University in 1998. Born in New York City on April 19, 1950, Guinier was the daughter of Ewart Guinier, … Read MoreLani Guinier (1950-2022)
Sir William Alexander Bustamante ONH GBE PC was a Jamaican politician and trade union leader who became the first Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1962. He was born William Alexander Clarke on February 24, 1884, to Mary Clarke and Robert Constantine Clarke. Bustamante attended primary … Read MoreAlexander Bustamante (1884-1977)
