Constance “Connie” Enola Morgan was one of the first three African American women to play in the Negro Leagues. Morgan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1935. Her mother, Vivian Beverly, stayed at home with her five children while her father, Howard Morgan, … Read MoreConstance Enola Morgan (1935-1993)
James Herbert Cameron Jr. was a civil rights activist responsible for founding three chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He later established America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cameron is also the only known person to have survived … Read MoreJames Herbert Cameron, Jr. (1914-2006)
“Image Ownership: Harry Naltchayan/Washington Post” Ivanhoe Donaldson, one of the leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was born on October 17, 1941, in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of New York policeman, and his mother was … Read MoreIvanhoe Donaldson (1941–2016)
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)
Eugene Parker is best known as the first African American sports agent. Parker was born February 24, 1956, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He attended Concordia Lutheran High School and graduated from Purdue University in 1978. He received a J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law … Read MoreEugene Parker (1956-2016)
Thornton Dial, a native Alabamian, was an artist and sculptor famous for yard show-influenced, mixed media pieces that used discarded everyday objects to symbolize the history and experience of African Americans in the South. While he did not belong to any formal school of art, … Read MoreThornton Dial (1928-2016)
Private Office of Dr. Sumner Furniss “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Prominent physician and surgeon Sumner Alexander Furniss was the first African American to become a member of the staff at Indianapolis City Hospital in Indiana. He was also a founding member and president of the … Read MoreSumner Alexander Furniss (1874-1953)
Esteemed educator, legendary basketball coach, and successful university president, Harrison Wilson Jr. was born on April 21, 1925, in Amsterdam, a small city in upstate New York. His mother Marguerite Ayers was a school teacher, and his father Harrison Wilson Sr. worked in construction. Dr. … Read MoreHarrison B. Wilson Jr. (1925-2019)
Entrepreneur businessman Ulysses Bridgeman, better known by his nickname, “Junior,” was born on September 17, 1953, in East Chicago, Indiana. His father, Ulysses Sr., worked in a steel mill, and his mother was a homemaker. Bridgeman attended East Washington High School where he maintained a … Read MoreUlysses “Junior” Bridgeman (1953- )
Cindy Lou Courville is an American diplomat and expert on Africa. Born in Opelousas, Louisiana, to Earnest and Mar Courville in 1954, she grew up attending segregated schools until the eighth grade when she was among the first groups of African American children who began … Read MoreCindy L. Courville (1954– )
