The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. (NPHC) is the collaborative effort of nine historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities, also known as the Divine 9. The Council was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 1930, and chartered by Alpha Kappa Alpha … Read MoreNational Pan-Hellenic Council (1930 – )
The first black Greek-letter organization, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha) was founded on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on December 4, 1906. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity currently has more than 850 chapters around the world and over 185,000 members. Alpha … Read MoreAlpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (1906- )
The Black Jews of Harlem are a minority ethnic group in New York who first appeared in the early 1900s. By 1930 there were at least four groups of Black Jews in Harlem. The most important of these groups was The Commandment Keepers Holy Church … Read MoreBlack Jews of Harlem
Ernie Davis is best known for being one of the greatest football players in college football history and the first black person to win the Heisman Trophy. In the process, Davis became an icon for an integrated America and for African Americans achieving the American … Read MoreErnie Davis (1940-1963)
Frank Silvera was an important 20th Century actor, director, producer, and teacher. Born on July 24, 1914 in Kingston, Jamaica, he grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and went on to study law at Northeastern University Law School. He later attended Boston University, Old Vic School, … Read MoreFrank Silvera (1914-1970)
Audre Lorde, born February 18, 1934 in New York City, New York, was an American feminist poet. The youngest of three daughters, Lorde was nearsighted to the point of legal blindness. She also didn’t speak till she was five, having first been inspired to speak … Read MoreAudre Lorde (1934-1992)
Charles McArthur Taylor, born on January 28, 1948, in Arthington, Liberia, served as the president of Liberia from August 2, 1997, to August 11, 2003. Born to Nelson and Bernice Taylor, his mother was part of the Gola tribe, and his father was claimed to … Read MoreCharles M. Taylor (1948- )
Florence Cole-Talbert was an African American soprano singer. Cole-Talbert was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 17, 1890 as one of two daughters to parents Thomas A. Cole and Sadie (Chandler) Cole. She was born into a family of musicians and began to learn and … Read MoreFlorence Cole-Talbert (1890-1961)
Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua’s biography is the only known biography of a former slave from Brazil. Baquaqua was born around 1824 near Djougou in modern day Benin to a Muslim merchant family. Baquaqua was captured from Djougou in 1845 while acting as a messenger for a … Read MoreMahommah Gardo Baquaqua (ca. 1824-ca. 1857)
Patricia Era Bath, a prominent ophthalmologist and innovative research and laser scientist, was the first African American woman physician to receive a patent for a medical invention. Bath was born on November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York to Rupert Bath, a Trinidadian immigrant and … Read MorePatricia Bath (1942-2019)
