John Lee Love was an African American inventor, most known for his invention of the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, the “Love Sharpener,” and an improved plasterer’s hawk. Little is known about the early life of Love. His date and place of birth are unknown, but it is … Read MoreJohn Lee Love (?-1931)
Harold Hairston served as the first African American Fire Commissioner for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hairston was born in North Carolina. Not much is known about his early life. He joined the Army in 1960, and served for three years with the 82nd Airborne … Read MoreHarold B. Hairston (1940-2016)
Michael Bruce Curry is the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. Curry was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 13, 1953 to the Rev. Kenneth S. L. Curry, a pastor and social activist, and Dorothy Strayhorn Curry. At age three, he moved … Read MoreMichael Bruce Curry (1953- )
Richard L. Davis is a distinguished historian of middle-period and late imperial China. He was born in Buffalo, New York to Darcy Raymond Williams, a minister of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, and Jessie Mae Belton Davis. In 1973, he earned bachelor’s degrees in both political … Read MoreRichard Lee Davis (1951?- )
Merze Tate, a historian, political author, world traveler, and philanthropist, was the first African American to graduate from Oxford University. She was born during a terrible blizzard in rural Blanchard, Michigan on February 6, 1905 to Charles and Myrtle Tate, both farmers. Her grandparents were … Read MoreVernie Merze Tate (1905-1996)
Born April 26, 1920 in Wampee, South Carolina, Golden Asro Frinks is known for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement and his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). When Frinks was nine, his family, including ten other siblings, moved to Tabor City, … Read MoreGolden Asro Frinks (1920-2004)
Amy Sherald, a portrait artist, was the first African American woman to complete a presidential portrait for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. She is best known for painting the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Sherald was born on August 30, 1973 in Columbus, Georgia, … Read MoreAmy Sherald (1973- )
Born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, he and his family moved to Harlem, New York, when he was nine years old. There, he worked in his father’s luncheonette, sang in church, and formed a doo-wop group called “The Four B’s.” The band … Read MoreBen E. King (1938-2015)
Ann Atwater is best known for her work in civil rights, and for her unlikely friendship with Ku Klux Klan leader C.P. Ellis. Ann G. Atwater was born on July 1, 1935, in Hillsboro, North Carolina. Her parents were sharecroppers, and her father was also a deacon of … Read MoreAnn G. Atwater (1935-2016)
College Basketball has had many legendary coaches that have become household names through their success on the court. For Coach Clarence Edward Gaines, known as “Big House” for his large frame, winning was a habit that led him to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1982. While … Read MoreClarence E. “Big House” Gaines, (1923-2005)
