The Rev. Dr. Regena Lynn Thomas is a former politician who formerly held the office of secretary of state for New Jersey and is the director of the Human Rights and Community Relations Department of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Thomas was born and … Read MoreRegena Thomas (1957- )
Known as the “perfect pitch” virtuosic a cappella legends, the Persuasions were established in 1962 by Jesse “Sweet Joe” Russell, who was born on September 25, 1939, in Henderson, Kentucky; bass James Caldon Hayes, born November 12, 1943, in Hopewell, Virginia; composer/tenor Jerome Eugene Lawson, … Read MoreThe Persuasions (1962-2017)
The Essex, a doo-wop R&B American quintet vocal ensemble, was formed in 1962. The band was named after Essex County, New Jersey. They were unique among R&B groups at the time in that all the founding members were also U.S. Marines. The founding members were … Read MoreThe Essex (1962-1965)
Composer, Jazz pianist, and vocalist Leslie Coleman “Les” McCann was born September 23, 1935, in Lexington, Kentucky. His early education began at the all-Black Rosenwald School in the city. In 1956, the self-taught pianist McCann played and sang in school bands and in the U.S. … Read MoreLes McCann (1935-2023)
Westley Sissel Unseld, 6-7 professional basketball player and coach, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 14, 1946, to Charles Dorsey Unseld, a prizefighter, construction worker, oilman, and baseball player for the Indianapolis Clowns, and Cornelia Sissel Unseld. The family had nine children: seven brothers, … Read MoreWestley “Wes” Sissel Unseld (1946-2020)
Frederick Douglas Patterson was the first African American to build motorized cars. His father, Charles Rich Patterson, a former enslaved person, created C. R. Patterson and Sons Company, located in Greenfield, Ohio. Beginning in 1865, the company built fashionable carriages. Frederick Patterson inherited the company … Read MoreFrederick Douglas Patterson (1871-1932)
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro League baseball team established initially as the Buckeyes Baseball Club, in Cincinnati, Ohio. On the eve of World War II, a white Cleveland sports promoter, Wilbur Hayes, approached Erie, Pennsylvania black businessman Ernest Wright about financially backing a Cleveland-based … Read MoreThe Cleveland Buckeyes (1941-1950)
John B (for the Baptist) Stradford was born a free man in Versailles, Kentucky in 1861. His father, J.C. Stradford was a former slave who had been emancipated and was living in Stradford, Ontario (Canada) but who returned to the U.S. and was in Versailles … Read MoreJohn “the Baptist” Stradford (1861-1935)
Activist, existential philosopher, professor, and Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. William “Bill” Ronald Jones dedicated his career to the analysis and methods of oppression, religious humanism, and liberation theology that influenced Africana philosophers such as Anthony B. Pinn and Lewis R. Gordon. Born July 17, … Read MoreBill Jones (1933-2012)
Donovan Mitchell Jr. is a basketball player who played for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mitchell was born on September 7, 1996 to Donovan Mitchell Sr and Nicole Mitchell in Elmford, New York. Mitchell also has one younger sister, Jordan Mitchell. … Read MoreDonovan Mitchell Jr. (1996- )
