Born on March 24, 1912, Dorothy Irene Height was an activist, administrator, and educator dedicated racial and women’s equality in the United States. She was born in Richmond, Virginia, to James Height, a building contractor, and Fannie (Burroughs) Height, a nurse. She moved with her … Read MoreDorothy Irene Height (1912-2010)
A controversial and conservative Republican, Alan Lee Keyes has perhaps one of the most extensive resumes to date in public and political life. His positions and appointments include but are not limited to: U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer of the consular office in … Read MoreAlan L. Keyes (1950- )
Sonia Sanchez was born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama. After her mother’s death in 1935 she lived with her grandmother. Her grandmother taught her to read at age four and write at age six. When her grandmother passed away in 1943 she moved to … Read MoreSonia Sanchez (1934- )
In this speech given in New York City on November 25, 1922, Marcus Garvey explains the objectives of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the organization he believed would lead the worldwide movement toward black liberation. Over five years ago the Universal Negro Improvement Association placed … Read More(1922) Marcus Garvey, “The Principles of The Universal Negro Improvement Association”
Born November 4, 1970 in Harlem, New York, Sean “Diddy” Combs is a multi-platinum selling producer, rapper, and successful record company executive. Combs was raised in Harlem, where his father was killed when Combs was three. His mother moved the family to suburban Mount Vernon, … Read MoreDiddy/Sean Combs (1970- )
Edith Spurlock was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1901. She grew up in a working class family, one of seven children, and attended Pittsburgh’s Peabody High School. Upon graduation, she married Rufus Sampson, a field agent for Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. After … Read MoreEdith Spurlock Sampson (1901-1979)
Musician and composer William Christopher “W.C.” Handy was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama. Widely known as the “Father of the Blues,” Handy is recognized as one of the leaders in popularizing blues music. Young Handy’s interest in music was discouraged by his … Read MoreW.C. Handy (1873-1958)
Hulan Edwin Jack was born in 1905 in St. Lucia but migrated with his parents to the United States from British Guiana (now known as Guyana). The family settled in New York City. Jack, a high school dropout, eventually went to work for the Peerless … Read MoreHulan Edwin Jack (1905-1986)
Jane Bolin was the first Black woman graduate of Yale Law School and the first Black female judge in the United States. Bolin was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on April 11, 1908. From her earliest days in her father’s law office, Bolin knew she … Read MoreJane Bolin (1908-2007)
Musicologist, playwright, novelist and political activist Lola Shirley Graham, born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1896, became the second wife to W.E.B. Du Bois in 1951. Lola Shirley Graham was taught at a young age to stand up to injustice. She wrote her first editorial to … Read MoreShirley Graham Du Bois (1896 – 1977)
