“Image Ownrship: Pubic Domain” Warner McCary, slave, musician, performer, self-identified prophet, and physician, was born in Natchez, Mississippi, circa 1810. His mother, Franky, was a slave, and his father, James McCary, was a slave owner and cabinetmaker who migrated to Natchez from Pennsylvania. Throughout his … Read MoreWarner McCrary (c.1810–n.d.)
Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. She is a three-time world all-around champion (2013-2015), three-time world floor champion (2013-2015), four-time United States National all-around champion (2013-2016), and a member of the gold medal-winning American teams at the 2014 and 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics … Read MoreSimone Arianne Biles (1997- )
“Image Ownership: Steve Lipofsky of Basketballphoto.com” Scottie Maurice Pippen is a retired American professional basketball player formerly with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Pippen was best known for playing with the Chicago Bulls, teaming with Michael Jordan to lead them to win six NBA championships … Read MoreScottie Maurice Pippen (1965– )
The choking death of Eric Garner on video in 2014 helped bring the debate on interactions between white police officers and unarmed African Americans to the national forefront. Eric Garner was born on September 15, 1970, in New York City, New York. Garner, whose mother … Read MoreEric Garner (1970–2014)
The 2015 death of twenty-eight-year-old Sandra Bland in a Texas jail cell helped serve as a reminder that Black Lives Matter meant women as well. Sandra Annette Bland, the second-youngest of five daughters, was born on February 7, 1987, in Naperville, Illinois. Raised by a … Read MoreSandra Annette Bland (1987-2015)
The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a cooperative organization of musicians that became the leading influence on musical genre of free jazz. It is a non-profit organization founded in May of 1965 in Chicago, Illinois, by Muhal Richard Abrams, Jodie Christian, … Read MoreAssociation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (1965– )
Ann Gregory was a pioneering African American female golfer. Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on July 25, 1912, Gregory was the middle child of five born to Henry and Myra Moore. Her parents died in a car accident when she was four, and their former employer, … Read MoreAnn Moore Gregory (1912-1990)
Rev. Joseph Jackson, long time pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, and President of the National Baptist Convention from 1953 to 1982 became the leading spokesperson for the black conservative opposition to the direct action civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther … Read More(1964) Joseph Jackson, “The Vote is the Only Effective Weapon in the Civil Rights Struggle”
“Image Ownership: Ashley Schumaker” In August 2021 Dr. Brian O’Harold Hemphill became the first black president of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He has previously served as president of Radford University in Radford, Virginia from 2016 to 2021 and was the tenth president of … Read MoreBrian O’Harold Hemphill (1969– )
John Charles Robinson, nicknamed the Brown Condor, was an African American aviator who fought with the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force against Benito Mussolini and Fascist Italy during the Second Italian-Ethiopian War, 1935–1936. He is also known as the Father of the Tuskegee Airmen for his … Read MoreJohn Charles Robinson (1903-1954)
