Composer, singer, and producer John William “Johnny” Bristol, Sr. was born on February 3, 1939, in Morganton, North Carolina. He attended Olive Hill High School in the city and performed with a singing group called The Jackets that appeared at school functions. He graduated in … Read MoreJohnny Bristol (1939-2004)
Legendary composer Barrett Strong, Jr. was born on February 5, 1941, in West Point, Mississippi, to Barrett Strong Sr. and Cloteal Gladney Strong. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan after his parents moved to the city. His siblings were Vera Mar Cole, Carolyn Ward, Lessie … Read MoreBarrett Strong (1941- )
Singer-songwriter Eddie Lee Floyd, known by his stage name, Eddie Floyd, was a popular R&B singer in the 1960s. Floyd was born on June 25, 1937, in Montgomery, Alabama, to Prince Edward, a steelworker, and Florence Floyd, a nurse. He had three brothers, Joe, Benny, … Read MoreEddie Lee Floyd (1937- )
The Contours were a talented early Motown Records group that began as a quartet called the Blender in Detroit, Michigan in 1958. They had brilliant choreography of splits and fouetté turns that Motown founder Berry Gordy first thought was too much for a stage act … Read MoreThe Contours (1958-1971)
The R&B and soul music ensemble Debarge, named for their shared surname, comprises the children of Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. from Chicago, Illinois, and Etterlene Louise Abney DeBarge Rodriguez, a singer from Royal Oak, Michigan. The seven brother and sister individual members of the ensemble … Read MoreDeBarge (1979–1989)
Dorceta E. Taylor is an environmental sociologist who specializes in environmental justice and racism in the environmental movement. In 1991 she became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. from Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Taylor is now a professor of environmental … Read MoreDorceta E. Taylor (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)
Dr. Thomas LaVeist is a lead researcher in studies about the racial disparities that influence or impact an individual’s health outcome at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine where he is also its first African American dean. Dr. LaVeist has contributed more … Read MoreThomas LaVeist (1961- )
The Del-Vikings were the first successful racially integrated Doo-Wop rock and roll ensemble formed in the United States and specifically in the United States Air Force during the Jim Crow era. The group, organized in 1955 at the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Air Force Base, comprised six … Read MoreThe Del-Vikings (1955-1973)
Detroit, Michigan, is a large midwestern city founded in 1701 by French settlers. With a population of 664,139, Detroit is the most populated city in Michigan, and it has the highest percentage of African Americans in a major city with over 70% of its residents … Read More10) Detroit, Michigan (1701- )
