Imari Obadele, black power activist, reparations advocate, and college professor, is best known as co-founder of the Republic of New Afrika. Obadele was born Richard Bullock Henry on May 2, 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His homemaker mother, Vera N. Robinson Henry, and his father, Walter … Read MoreImari Abubakari Obadele, I (1930-2010)
Niara Sudarkasa, born Gloria Albertha Marshall, was an accomplished scholar, educator, and cultural anthropologist. She was born on August 14, 1938, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Rowena Marshall. Her mother and maternal grandparents, a farmer and a housewife, who migrated from the Bahamas, raised her … Read MoreNiara Sudarkasa (1938-2019)
An internationally-recognized chemical physicist, Dr. Joseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. played an important role in explaining the chemical reactions driving ozone depletion in the earth’s atmosphere. At a time when diminution of the ozone layer threatened to increase humans’ exposure to ultraviolet radiation, Francisco’s research revealed … Read MoreJoseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. (1955- )
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)
Tuskegee Airman Jack Daniels Holsclaw was born in Spokane, Washington, on March 21, 1918. His father, Charles, was a clerk in a downtown store, and his mother, Nell, was a manager at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. Holsclaw attended North Central High School in Spokane, where … Read MoreJack Daniels Holsclaw (1918-1998)
In 2018, Lauren Underwood was elected to the U.S. Congress representing the 14th Congressional district of Illinois which is suburban Chicago. She is the first African American woman to represent the district, defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren. At age 32, she is also the … Read MoreLauren Underwood (1986- )
Educator and HCBU President Lionel Hodge Newsom was born on November 11, 1919 in Wichita Falls, Texas, to Lawson and Georgia (McCullough) Newsom. He attended the local school, and enrolled into Lincoln University, Missouri where he became member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Newsom graduated … Read MoreLionel Hodge Newsom (1919-1991)
John Edward James is an Iraq War Veteran, businessman, and former Republican United States Senate candidate from Michigan. James became a rising star in the Republican Party after defeating Sandy Pensler, another Michigan businessman, in the 2018 Michigan GOP Senate primary. James went on to … Read MoreJohn Edward James (1969- )
Carolyn Kilpatrick was the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district from 1997 to 2011. Cheeks was born on June 25, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan to Willa Mae Henry and Marvel Cheeks Jr. Her father worked for the Ford plant and her mother was a … Read MoreCarolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (1945- )
Dale Brown Emeagwali is a distinguished American scientist who is best known for her investigational research in the fields of microbiology and oncology. Emeagwali was born on December 24th, 1954 in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the youngest of three children. Her mother, Doris Brown, was a teacher while … Read MoreDale Brown Emeagwali (1954- )
