Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. was fatally shot on November 19, 2011, in White Plains, New York. After his LifeAid medical alert was accidentally triggered, police came to his home and commanded that he open the front door to his residence. Despite his report that he did not need assistance, … Read MoreKenneth Chamberlain, Sr. (1943-2011)
Novelist and short story writer Terry McMillan was born on October 18, 1951 in Port Huron, Michigan to Edward and Madeline McMillan. During her childhood her father spent much of his time confined to his home due to tuberculosis, forcing her mother to support the family by working … Read MoreTerry McMillan (1951- )
Akai Gurley was tragically and senselessly killed while walking down the stairwell of his apartment building with his girlfriend. His death, like the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown, helped inspire and propel the Black Lives Matter Movement. Gurley was 28 years of age at the time … Read MoreAkai Kareem Gurley (1986-2014)
Twenty-year-old Reynaldo Cuevas’s life was cut short by an NYPD officer as he fled an armed robbery in his place of business. Cuevas was born on January 6, 1992 in the Dominican Republic. The son of Ana and Reynaldo Cuevas, his family came to the United States when … Read MoreReynaldo Cuevas (1992-2012)
The violent, heroic actions of an illiterate black sailor threatened with enslavement enthralled newspaper and magazine readers during the tense early phase of the American Civil War. Born free in Milford, Delaware—a state that permitted slavery but had a relatively small slave population—William B. Tillman found opportunity as a … Read MoreWilliam B. Tillman (a.k.a. William Tilghman, 1834?-1880?)
Mystic cult leader, intellectual, author, and war survivor Robert T. Browne was born in a shack near LaGrange, Texas, on July 16, 1882. He was believed to be the son of illiterate former slaves who likely attended a black Methodist church in the vicinity. An exceptional student, when Browne … Read MoreRobert Tecumtha Browne (1882-1978)
David L. Lewis is a twice Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. He was born on May 25, 1936 in Little Rock, Arkansas to John Henry Lewis, Sr., a Yale Divinity School graduate and college president, and the former Alice Urnestine Bell, a public school math teacher. He … Read MoreDavid Levering Lewis (1936- )
The first African American pilot hired by a commercial passenger airline carrier owed his achievement to Marlon D. Green who fought a six-year court battle that opened the industry to minority-race aviators. Born on June 6, 1929 in El Dorado, Arkansas, one of the five … Read MoreMarlon DeWitt Green (1929-2009)
James Williams, a fugitive from slavery and the author of the only known full-length slave narrative published independently (in California), was born John Thomas in Elkton, Maryland, April 1, 1825. At age thirteen, he ran away from his master, William Hollingsworth, and fled to Pennsylvania. … Read MoreJames Williams (1825- ?)
Twenty-three-year-old Sean Elijah Bell, the victim of a violent police shooting in 2006, was born on May 18, 1983, to William and Valerie Bell. As a child, Bell was interested in acting and played baseball. According to Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Poultre, in an interview with … Read MoreSean Elijah Bell (1983-2006)
