Geologist and college administrator Randolph W. Bromery was born in Cumberland, Maryland, on January 18, 1926, the son of Lawrence Randolph Bromery and Edith Edmonson Bromery. Graduating at the top of his high school class in 1942, he briefly worked as a machinist in Detroit, Michigan, before entering … Read MoreRandolph Wilson Bromery (1926-2013)
Physicist Elmer S. Imes, an internationally recognized early authority on infrared spectroscopy, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 12, 1883, the son of Benjamin Imes, a minister, and the former Elizabeth Wallace, an ex-slave. Both of his parents were alumni of Oberlin College in Ohio and worked as missionaries in … Read MoreElmer Samuel Imes (1883-1941)
Jazz harpist-composer Dorothy Ashby was born Dorothy Jeanne Thompson in Detroit, Michigan, on August 6, 1932, the daughter of self-taught guitarist Wiley Thompson. Raised in the jazz community in the city and tutored by her father to learn harmony and musical instruments, she occasionally provided piano accompaniment for musicians visiting … Read MoreDorothy Ashby (1932-1986)
Novelist and short story writer Terry McMillan was born on October 18, 1951 in Port Huron, Michigan to Edward and Madeline McMillan. During her childhood her father spent much of his time confined to his home due to tuberculosis, forcing her mother to support the family by working … Read MoreTerry McMillan (1951- )
On Friday, February 3, 1893, Henry Smith was lynched in Paris, Texas, in front of an estimated 15,000 spectators. His death was one of the earliest spectacle lynchings on record. The heinousness of Smith’s death captured the attention of journalist and anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells. She included a detailed … Read MoreHenry Smith (?-1893)
In 2010 Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones, a seven-year-old African American girl, was accidentally shot and killed during a raid that was conducted by the Detroit, Michigan Police Department’s Special Response Team. The killing contributed to raising national awareness of the ongoing issue of young unarmed African Americans being … Read MoreAiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones (2002-2010)
Leslie B. Rout, Jr. was a Latin American history professor, jazz musician, and author. Rout was born into poverty in Chicago, Illinois on February 26, 1935 to a former Army master sergeant Leslie B. Rout, Sr. His mother’s name is unknown. Rout earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at Loyola University … Read MoreLeslie Brennan Rout, Jr. (1935-1987)
David L. Lewis is a twice Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. He was born on May 25, 1936 in Little Rock, Arkansas to John Henry Lewis, Sr., a Yale Divinity School graduate and college president, and the former Alice Urnestine Bell, a public school math teacher. He … Read MoreDavid Levering Lewis (1936- )
The first African American pilot hired by a commercial passenger airline carrier owed his achievement to Marlon D. Green who fought a six-year court battle that opened the industry to minority-race aviators. Born on June 6, 1929 in El Dorado, Arkansas, one of the five … Read MoreMarlon DeWitt Green (1929-2009)
Darryl Dawkins (also known as Chocolate Thunder—a name music legend Stevie Wonder gave him), was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957. Born to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins, he was raised by his grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, in Orlando where he attended Maynard … Read MoreDarryl Dawkins (1957-2015)
