Barry C. Black is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral. On June 27, 2003, he became the first African American Chaplain of the United States Senate. Black was born on November 1, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland. At an early age, his parents—his father Lester and especially his mother Pearline—insisted on … Read MoreBarry C. Black (1948- )
Otis Milton Smith became the first black justice on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1961, and served on the court until 1966. Smith was also the first black corporate officer of the General Motors Corporation, where he worked as general counsel, vice president, and leading attorney between 1966 and 1984. Smith … Read MoreOtis M. Smith (1922-1994)
Myra Consetta Selby has served as both the first African American and first female associate justice appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court. Selby was born in 1955 in Bay City, Michigan. Selby’s father, the late Ralph L. Selby, worked as an attorney; her mother Archie was a fourth-grade school teacher. … Read MoreMyra Consetta Selby (1955- )
As one of the country’s most notorious gangsters and drug kingpins, Frank Lucas led a very public life, even having his story depicted in the film American Gangster. Lucas was born to Mahalee Jones Lucas and Fred Lucas, on September 9, 1930 in La Grange, North Carolina. … Read MoreFrank Lucas (1930-2019)
Willie Hobbs Moore has the distinction of being the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in physics, granted to her from the University of Michigan in 1972. Moore was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 23, 1934. In 1952, she relocated to Ann … Read MoreWillie Hobbs Moore (1934 -1994)
James B. McMillan was the first black dentist in Nevada. In the 1960s, he successfully fought against segregation in Las Vegas. McMillan was born on January 14, 1917, in Aberdeen, Mississippi, the son of James Milton McMillan and Rosalie Gay. McMillan’s father died when he was one year old, and he … Read MoreJames B. McMillan (1917-1999)
Major General Errol R. Schwartz, the first black adjutant general for the District of Columbia, was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1952. In 1972 Schwartz arrived in the United States, following his brother and sister who emigrated from Guyana to enroll at Howard University. Their own quest for higher education … Read MoreErrol R. Schwartz (1952- )
Muriel E. Poston is an accomplished botanist and dedicated educator working to increase underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Her extensive science career crosses many universities and institutions, including Howard University, and the National Science Foundation. Her expertise in botany lies in the flora of Central and South America, specifically Panama, Nicaragua, and Ecuador with … Read MoreMuriel E. Poston (1950- )
Writer, activist, and artist Patrisse Cullors, is most well-known as one of the three founders of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Cullors was born in 1984 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the Pacoima neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. Her mother, Cherisse Foley, raised Cullors and her … Read MorePatrisse Cullors (1984- )
In 1982, Dr. Marsha Rhea Williams became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science. A successful educator and researcher in academia, Williams has also held positions in private industry and the public sector. Her scholarship examines a variety of topics, ranging from the … Read MoreMarsha Rhea Williams (1948- )
