Actor and playwright Charlayne Woodard was born on December 29, 1955 in Albany, New York. She graduated from the Goodman School of Theatre of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois with an MFA in 1977, and promptly set off for New York City. Within two weeks … Read MoreCharlayne Woodard (1955- )
Theatre pioneer Woodie King Jr. is a director, actor, playwright, screen-writer, television scriptwriter, essayist, short-story writer, and consultant. Hailed as “the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre,” he was the most successful and prolific black producer in the world. For over 35 years, as founding director … Read MoreWoodie King, Jr. (1937- )
Shuffle Along, a musical comedy by composer Eubie Blake and lyricist Noble Sissle which featured an all-black cast, was the most significant achievement in black theatre of its time. Shuffle Along opened at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., in late March, 1921 for two … Read MoreShuffle Along (1921)
Berhanu Nega was elected mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the Ethiopian general elections, 2005. He is a founding chairman of the Rainbow Ethiopia: Movement for Democracy and Social Justice and a Deputy Chairman of Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), for which he served … Read MoreBerhanu Nega (1958- )
Currently in his 13th term in Congress, Edolphus Towns is a Democratic Representative from the State of New York. Towns was born in Chadbourn, North Carolina on July 21, 1934, and attended the public schools of Chadbourn before graduating with a B.S. degree from North … Read MoreEdolphus Towns (1934- )
Entertainer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson’s original name was Luther Robinson. He was born on May 25, 1878, to Maxwell, a machinist, and Maria Robinson, a church choir director, in Richmond Virginia. Both parents died tragically in 1885. Robinson did not like his birth name, Luther, and … Read MoreBill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949)
Sheila Jackson-Lee was born on January 12, 1950 in Queens, New York. She graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens, New York in 1968. She then graduated from Yale University in Connecticut with a B.A. in political science in 1972 followed in 1975 by a … Read MoreSheila Jackson-Lee (1950- )
David A. Paterson, sworn in as Governor on March 17, 2008, is the first legally blind American Governor, the first black Governor of New York State, and only the fourth black Governor of any state. Paterson has been serving as Lieutenant Governor of New York, … Read MoreDavid A. Paterson (1954- )
Valenza Pauline Burke, later known as Paule Marshall, was born on April 9, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the daughter of Ada and Samuel Burke, both emigrants from Barbados, and she grew up in a neighborhood with a significant number of other families … Read MorePaule Marshall (1929-2019)
Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921, in New Haven, Connecticut. She was the ninth child in a family of twelve children. Her parents were emigrants from the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Motley grew up attending New Haven’s integrated public … Read MoreConstance Baker Motley (1921-2005)
