On April 20, 2019, Lori Lightfoot made history when she was elected the 56th Mayor of Chicago. She was the first black woman elected to that office. She was also the first openly gay person to fill the position. Born on August 4, 1962 she … Read MoreLori Lightfoot (1962- )
Herbert Eugene Carter was one of the original thirty-three Tuskegee Airmen. He flew seventy-seven missions with fellow Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Carter was born on September 27, 1919 to Ann Sykes Carter and George Washington Carter in Amory, Mississippi. He attended Tuskegee High … Read MoreHerbert Eugene Carter (1919-2012)
Mathematician Annie J. Easley was born on April 23, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama to Samuel and Mary Easley. Easley grew up in Birmingham and initially sought to be a nurse, but she soon switched to pharmacy once she started high school. Easley entered Xavier University … Read MoreAnnie J. Easley (1933-2011)
The shooting death of 31-year-old Corey Lamar Jones in 2015 by Pakistani-American police officer Nouman K. Raja when Jones was waiting by his disabled car contributed to the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. The incident sparked national protests similar to those in the … Read MoreCorey Lamar Jones (1984-2015)
George Costello Wolfe is one of the most celebrated American playwrights and directors of theater and film. Known for his five Tony Awards, Wolfe was born in Frankfort, Kentucky on September 23, 1954. His mother Anna Lindsey-Wolfe was a librarian and principal at the all-black … Read MoreGeorge C. Wolfe (1954- )
Actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Terrence Deshon Howard is best known for his role as Lucius Lyons, music mogul, in the TV series Empire for which he won the BET Best Actor Award in 2015. While he began his career appearing on several … Read MoreTerrence Howard (1969- )
Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee is a retired fighter pilot whose legendary career spans three wars and four hundred and nine combat missions. McGee was born on December 7, 1919, to Lewis Allen and Ruth Elizabeth (Lewis) in Cleveland, Ohio. His father’s position as a minister, … Read MoreCharles Edward McGee (1919- )
Carrie Mae Weems is an internationally renowned artist, best known for her work in photography. Weems has also used fabric, text, audio and digital images as mediums in her work. For over thirty-five years, Weems has developed a complex contemporary ongoing dialogue addressing issues of … Read MoreCarrie Mae Weems (1953- )
The shooting death of Samuel DuBose, an unarmed black man, by Ray Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate and a suspended driver’s license, contributed to the growth of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The … Read MoreSamuel DuBose (1972-2015)
