Composer, baritone, pianist, lyricist, and actor John Legend was born John Roger Stephens on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio, to Ronald Lamar Stephens, a percussionist, and handcrafter and Phyllis Elaine Lloyd, a seamstress and Choir Director. He was surrounded by music at home and … Read MoreJohn Legend (1978- )
Tuskegee Airman Rudolph “Val” Archer was born in Woodlawn, a South Side neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois on April 13, 1929 to Osborn Archer, railroad laborer, and artist and homemaker Ruth Luella Seay. Ruth Archer passed away when Rudolph was twelve, and he began to deliver … Read MoreRudolph “Val” Archer (1929-2020)
Frederick Douglas Patterson was the first African American to build motorized cars. His father, Charles Rich Patterson, a former enslaved person, created C. R. Patterson and Sons Company located in Greenfield, Ohio. Beginning in 1865, the company built fashionable carriages. Frederick Patterson inherited the company … Read MoreFrederick Douglas Patterson (1871-1932)
George David Hackney is the current Washington State Representative for the 11th Legislative District Position 1 representing the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods of Seattle, Washington, as well as Tukwila and portions of Renton, Kent, and unincorporated King County. Representative Hackney was born in Cleveland, … Read MoreDavid Hackney (1965- )
Clarence Burgess Owens is one of only two African American Republicans currently serving as a congressional representative in the U.S. Congress (along with Byron Donalds, R-FL), and the only African American Republican in the Utah congressional delegation. Born on August 2, 1951, in Columbus, Ohio, … Read MoreBurgess Owens (1951- )
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro League baseball team established initially as the Buckeyes Baseball Club, in Cincinnati, Ohio. On the eve of World War II, a white Cleveland sports promoter, Wilbur Hayes, approached Erie, Pennsylvania black businessman Ernest Wright about financially backing a Cleveland-based … Read MoreThe Cleveland Buckeyes (1941-1950)
On January 2, 2019, Melody J. Stewart became the first African American woman sworn in to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court. Justice Stewart was born on February 19, 1962, in Cleveland, Ohio. Growing up in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, Stewart was raised by … Read MoreMelody J. Stewart (1962- )
Irving Garland Penn was a journalist, educator, and key figure at Methodist Episcopal Church. Penn was born on October 7, 1867, in New Glasgow, Virginia, to a mulatto family, possibly of black and Native American heritage. His father Isom was a railroad brakeman, and his … Read MoreIrving Garland Penn (1867-1930)
Known for discovering the Alpha Helix, a common protein structure, Dr. Herman Branson was a pioneer in biophysics. Born on August 14, 1914 in Pocahontas, Virginia, not much is known about his early life. After a primary and elementary education, Branson attended Virginia College (now … Read MoreHerman Branson (1914-1995)
Billie Blair is an African American model who rose to fame during the 1973 fashion extravaganza at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. She later left the fashion world to pursue her passion for evangelism. Born to Hattie and William Blair in Arkansas, Billie … Read MoreBillie Blair (1951- )
