Henry “Pistol” Mason was the first Black baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia farm team, the Schenectady Blue Jays in 1955. Mason was born on June 19, 1931 in Marshall, Missouri to Tansie and Anna Mason. His father was a laborer in a rock quarry and … Read MoreHenry Mason (1931-2020)
Barack Obama Sr., father of the 43rd President of the United States, was born in the Rachuonyo District, in the then British colony of Kenya, on June 18, 1936, to Onyango Obama and Habiba Akumu Nyanjango. He was raised in the Nyang’oma Kogelo village, Siaya … Read MoreBarack Hussein Obama Sr. (1936-1982)
Herman Perry was the target of the “Greatest Manhunt of World War II.” In fact, there is no comparable search for a fugitive soldier in the annals of U.S. military history. Perry was born in poverty on May 16, 1922, in rural Monroe, North Carolina, … Read MoreHerman Perry (1922-1945)
Rutgers University President Jonathan S. Holloway was born July 26, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of an Air Force lieutenant colonel Dr. Wendell Mondoza Holloway and preschool and elementary school teacher Kay Trent Holloway. He grew up mainly in Montgomery, Alabama where his father … Read MoreJonathan Scott Holloway (1967- )
On June 9, 2020, four-star general Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the be the Air Force’s representative on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), thus becoming the first African American to both head a branch of the military … Read MoreCharles Quinton Brown Jr. (1962- )
Charles Wilber “Bullet” Rogan, also known as Bullet Joe, was a pitcher and outfielder who played most of his baseball career for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Rogan was born on July 28, 1893 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His mother died … Read MoreCharles Wilber “Bullet” Rogan (1893-1967)
William Henry Jernagin was a Baptist minister, civil rights advocate and Organizer of the Washington Bureau of the National Fraternal Council of Negro Churches. Born on October 13, 1869 in Mashulaville, Mississippi, to Allen and Julia Ruth Jernagin. He was educated in the public schools … Read MoreWilliam Henry Jernagin (1869-1958)
Janet Mock is an African American, Hawaiian, and Transgendered person. She was born on March 10, 1983, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was raised in Honolulu, Oakland, California and Dallas, Texas as Charles Mock III. Her father is Charles Mock II and her mother is Elizabeth … Read MoreJanet Mock (1983- )
James Richardson Bacote was an artist, preservationist, historian and co-founder of the Geechee Kunda Cultural Center in Georgia. Bacote was born on December 18, 1948 in Brunswick, Georgia, to Sally and James Bacote Sr. He attended local schools on the Georgia Coast, as well as … Read MoreJames R. Bacote II (1948-2018)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor and former professional wrestler, was born on May 2, 1972 to Rocky Johnson, a Black Nova Scotian professional wrestler, and Ata Johnson, a Samoan, in Haywood, California. Growing up, while his father was on the road during his professional wrestling … Read MoreDwayne “The Rock” Johnson (1972- )
