Mario Cain Van Peebles was born in Mexico City, Mexico on January 15, 1957 and is the son of writer, director, and actor Melvin Van Peebles and German actress and photographer Maria Marx. He graduated from Saint Thomas More School in Connecticut in 1974 and from Columbia University in 1978 with a bachelor’s … Read MoreMario Van Peebles (1957- )
Best known for his roles as Norman Wilson, newspaper-man turned-political-operative in The Wire (2006 and 2008), and as Freddy Hayes in House of Cards, owner of the BBQ joint frequented by Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), both HBO series, Reg E. Cathey was a well-known character actor. Nominated three times, … Read MoreReg E. Cathey (1958-2018)
Born in Rockville Centre, New York, Myles Jones began playing lacrosse in 2006 on his 6th grade team as a defender. He also played football in his youth and was quarterback of his high school team, Walt Whitman. In school, Jones was constantly critiqued by his African American friends about … Read MoreMyles Jones (1993- )
Film and theatrical actor Jeffrey Wright has been one of the most sought-after and versatile actors in Hollywood and Broadway since the 1990s. Born on December 7, 1965 in Washington, D.C., Wright’s father died when he was a year old. His mother, a U.S. Customs Bureau attorney, took … Read MoreJeffrey Wright (1965- )
Edward T. “Ned” Coll is a civil rights activist and one time (1972) presidential candidate from Connecticut known for taking on the privatized and segregated beaches along the Connecticut coast in the 1970s. Born in 1940, he grew up in Hartford, Connecticut and was educated at the Jesuit Fairfield University, graduating in 1962. Ned Coll, who … Read MoreNed Coll (1940- )
Operatic soprano Camilla Williams was born October 18, 1919, in Danville, Virginia to Fannie Carey Williams and Cornelius Booker Williams. The youngest of four siblings, Williams began singing at a young age and was performing at her local church by age eight. At age 12, she began taking … Read MoreCamilla Williams (1919-2012)
Danny Lyon Scarborough made his mark in the world in two arenas, as an innovative, Emmy Award-winning choreographer/dancer and as one of the first well-known African Americans to go public about having AIDS. Born on July 27, 1947, he grew up on a farm near Wake Forest, North … Read MoreDanny Scarborough (1947-1989)
Hazel Carby is an African-American Studies scholar, a professor at Yale University in Connecticut, and holder of the Charles C. and Dorothea S. Dilley Chair in African American Studies. Hazel Vivian Carby was born on January 15, 1948 in Okehampton, in Devon county, United Kingdom. She was born to … Read MoreHazel V. Carby (1948- )
William B. Purvis was an American inventor, best known for his patented improvements to the fountain pen in 1890. Purvis was born in Pennsylvania to Joseph and Sarah Purvis on August 12, 1838, as one of eight children. He was related to two prominent anti-slavery activists; his grandfather … Read MoreWilliam B. Purvis (1838-1914)
Barbara Chase-Riboud was born on June 26, 1939, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Charles and Vivian Chase and is known for her controversial novel Sally Hemings, poetry, and sculptures, including the Malcolm X Steles. Her artistic talent in drawing and sculpting was discovered at any early age and as a result she attended the prestigious … Read MoreBarbara Chase-Riboud (1939- )
