The novelist Richard Moore Rive was born March 1, 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. His mother was Nancy Rive, a black South African woman and his father was Richardson Moore, an African-American ship hand. Moore abandoned his newly-born son, Richard, a few months after … Read MoreRichard Moore Rive (1931-1989)
Educator, diplomat and businessman, Jerome Heartwell Holland was born on January 9, 1916 in Auburn, New York. The parents of Holland, and that of his twelve other siblings, were Robert Holland, a gardener/carpenter, and Viola Bagby Holland. For the entirety of his life, Holland maintained … Read MoreJerome Heartwell Holland (1916-1985)
In 1923 Marcus Garvey was convicted on federal charges of mail fraud in connection with the sale of stock in the Universal Negro Improvement Association’s Black Star Line. Sentenced to prison, Garvey delivered his last address before a crowd at Liberty Hall in New York … Read More(1923) Marcus Garvey, “A Last Word Before Incarceration”
African novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a Kenyan author, educator and playwright. With the publication of his first novel, he became a critically-acclaimed author at the age of 29. His work is also published under the pseudonym James T. Ngugi. Ngugi wa Thiong’o was born … Read MoreNgugi wa Thiong’o (AKA James T. Ngugi) (1938- )
William B. Powell Jr., one of the first African American physicians to receive a contract as a surgeon with the Union Army, was free born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1834. His father, William Powell Sr., also in the medical practice, was African American, and … Read MoreWilliam B. Powell Jr. (1834-1915)
African-American artist Archibald J. Motley Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 7, 1891. At the age of two Motley was taken by his parents to Chicago when they decided to move north to seek better employment. The family finally settled in the … Read MoreArchibald J. Motley Jr. (1891-1981)
One of Booker T. Washington’s closest confidants, Charles William Anderson’s personal and professional relationship with African America’s most prominent educational leader spanned more than 20 years and helped influence Anderson’s political views and determine his public offices. Anderson, a Republican, was known primarily for his … Read MoreCharles William Anderson (1866-1938)
Ewart Guinier, labor activist and political candidate, was the first chairman of Harvard University’s Afro-American Studies Department. Born in Panama in 1910, Guinier migrated to the United States in 1925 and attended high school in Boston, Massachusetts. After his acceptance into the Harvard University Class … Read MoreEwart Guinier (1910-1990)
Born May 31, 1918 in Philadelphia, Lloyd Albert Quarterman, a chemist, was one of the few African American scientists and technicians to work on the Manhattan Project, the top secret effort to design and build the atomic bomb during World War II. Quarterman developed an interest in … Read MoreLloyd Albert Quarterman (1918-1982)
By 1921 the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was well on its way to becoming the largest predominately black organization in the world. Marcus Garvey, the UNIA’s founder, however, already recognized W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP as its chief rival. In his closing night … Read More(1921) Marcus Garvey “Address to the Second UNIA Convention”
