Althea Gibson, a sharecropper’s daughter, entered the world of sports when segregation severely limited opportunities for African Americans. She eventually became the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and golf. Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, to Daniel … Read MoreAlthea Gibson (1927-2003)
One of hip-hop culture’s most influential pioneers, Afrika Bambaataa was the first to articulate an ideology for the emerging youth culture, using the music to illustrate hip-hop’s expansive potential as a global movement. As a DJ and recording artist, Bambaataa embraced every musical genre to … Read MoreAfrika Bambaataa (1957- )
Robert C. Weaver was a noted economist and administrator. From 1966 through 1968, he was the first African American cabinet official, serving as the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Weaver was born December 29, 1907 in Washington D.C. and raised … Read MoreRobert Clifton Weaver (1907-1997)
The eighth child of a cotton farmer, O’Neil Ray Collins, born March 9, 1931 in Opelousas, Louisiana, rose to become one of the most distinguished African American botanists, a world renowned expert on slime-mold genetics. Upon completing his bachelor’s degree in botany at Southern University … Read MoreO’Neil R. Collins (1931-1989)
The National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) was created in 1966 to fight for greater assistance and control over welfare regulations. In the 1950s, politicians and journalists drew attention to the rapid increases in the welfare rolls, especially among African American single mothers. Punitive laws were … Read MoreNational Welfare Rights Organization (1966-1975)
Malcolm X, one of the most influential African American leaders of the 20th Century, was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Earl Little, a Georgia native and itinerant Baptist preacher, and Louise Norton Little who was born in the West … Read MoreMalcolm X (1925-1965)
Image Ownership: Public Domain John Henrik Clarke, historian, black nationalist, and Pan-Africanist, was a pioneer in the formation of Africana studies in the United States. Principally a self-trained historian, Clarke dedicated his life to correcting what he argued was the prevailing view that people of … Read MoreJohn Henrik Clarke (1915-1998)
James Arthur Baldwin, fiction writer, essayist, dramatist, and poet, was born on August 2, 1924 in Harlem, New York during the Harlem Renaissance. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx in 1942, he began his formal career as a writer. Baldwin was … Read MoreJames Baldwin (1924-1987)
James Thomas Saunders Redding was born in Wilmington, Delaware on October 13, 1906 to Lewis Alfred Redding and Mary Ann Holmes. Redding earned a bachelor of philosophy (Ph.B.) in 1928 and later a master of arts (M.A.) in 1932 from Brown University. Redding also earned … Read MoreJ. Saunders Redding (1906-1988)
Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr. is often described as one of America’s most important contemporary mathematicians. At 13, he became the University of Chicago’s youngest student. Wilkins continued his studies there, earning bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in mathematics. When he finished his Ph.D. at 19, he … Read MoreJ. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923-2011)
