Rhythm and blues artist Sharon Lafaye Jones was born in Augusta, Georgia, on May 4, 1956. She was the youngest of six children born to Ella Mae Price Jones and Charlie Jones. The family moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in 1960. … Read MoreSharon Lafaye Jones (1956–2016)
King Virgil Cheek Jr. is a lifelong educator, lawyer, and author, who, along with older brother, James Edward Cheek, served as president of the historic black college, Shaw University. King Cheek was born on May 26, 1937, in Weldon, North Carolina. His mother, Lee Ella … Read MoreKing Virgil Cheek Jr. (1937- )
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Ifill was a PBS newscaster, author, and American Peabody Award-winning journalist. Ifill was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, on September 29, 1955. Her father, Oliver Urcille Ifill Sr., was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister of Barbadian descent who immigrated to Panama, … Read MoreGwendolyn L. Ifill (1955–2016)
The Second Emancipation Proclamation was an envisioned executive order proposed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the civil rights movement which they urged President John F. Kennedy to issue. As the Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln to … Read MoreSecond Emancipation Proclamation (1962)
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, director, singer, and dancer. She was born on March 10, 1962, in Boston, Massachusetts, to biracial parents. Her father, William Guy, is an African American pastor, and her mother, Jaye Rudolph, is a Portuguese American who was a school … Read MoreJasmine Guy (1962- )
Lester Don Holt Jr. is an American journalist who anchors the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News. He also anchors for Dateline NBC. Holt was born in Marin City, California, on March 9, 1959, to June (DeRozario) Holt and Lester Don Holt Sr. His maternal … Read MoreLester Don Holt, Jr. (1959- )
Henrietta Vinton Davis was an American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator. She was also considered to be the physical, intellectual, and spiritual link between the abolitionist movement of the Frederick Douglass era and the African Redemption Movement of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities … Read MoreHenrietta Vinton Davis (1860-1941)
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Gustavo “Gus” Fring on the AMC TV series Breaking Bad, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama award and was nominated for an outstanding Supporting … Read MoreGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (1958– )
“Image Ownership: Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times” Lloyd George Richards was an African American film, theater, and video director. He was born on June 29, 1919, in Toronto, Ontario, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. Richards was only nine years old when his father died, … Read MoreLloyd George Richards (1919–2006)
Viola Davis is an American producer and actress of stage, screen, and television. Davis was born August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. She is the daughter of Mary Alice Davis, a maid, factory worker, homemaker, and civil rights activist. Her father, Dan Davis, … Read MoreViola Davis (1965- )
