Jane Edna Hunter is most famous for founding the Phillis Wheatley Association (PWA) in 1913. Hunter was born on December 13, 1882 in Pendleton, South Carolina to Harriet Millner, a free-born daughter of freed slaves, and Edward Harris, the son of a slave woman and … Read MoreJane Edna Hunter (1882-1971)
Clarence Eugene Page is a newspaper columnist, essayist, and political analyst. His syndicated column which specializes in urban issues appears in numerous newspapers across the United States. Page was born on June 2, 1947 in Dayton, Ohio to Clarence H. and Maggie (Williams) Page. Page’s … Read MoreClarence E. Page (1947- )
Attorney, civil rights and human rights activist, Fred D. Gray, was born on December 14, 1930, in Montgomery, Alabama to Nancy and Abraham Gray. The youngest of five children, he and his siblings were raised in a shotgun house in a segregated black section of … Read MoreFred D. Gray (1930- )
Carl Thomas Rowan was a diplomat, author, reporter, and broadcaster. He was the first black deputy Secretary of State, and the first black director of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Rowan was born August 11, 1925, in the mining town of Ravenscroft, Tennessee. When … Read MoreCarl T. Rowan (1925-2000)
Born on February 24, 1811 to free Black parents London and Martha Payne in Charleston, South Carolina, Daniel Alexander Payne would become a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, president of Wilberforce University, abolitionist, educator, and historian. When Payne was four his father … Read MoreDaniel Alexander Payne (1811-1893)
Boxing promoter Don King was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1931. The son of a steelworker who died in a smelter explosion, King’s earliest success was the result of his ownership of a popular tavern, where many top black musicians performed, and an illegal bookmaking … Read MoreDon King (1931- )
Michael B. Coleman was the first African American Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, holding the post from January 1, 2000 to January 1, 2016. Coleman was born on November 18, 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana to John Coleman, a medical doctor, and Joan Coleman, a local civil … Read MoreMichael B. Coleman (1954- )
Alan Page is a former professional football player and current Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Born on August 7, 1945 in Canton, Ohio, Page holds the distinction of being the only player to work on the construction of the National Football League (NFL) … Read MoreAlan Page (1945- )
Alberry Allson Whitman was a romantic poet and a clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Whitman was born enslaved in Hart County, Kentucky. He became a freedman in 1863, but his family was unable to enjoy their freedom for long as his parents … Read MoreAlberry Allson Whitman (1851-1901)
James Carroll Napier, a 19th century Nashville businessman and civil rights leader, was born near Nashville, Tennessee on June 9, 1845, to free parents William C. and Jane E. Napier. Napier attended a private school for free black children in Nashville and then in 1859 … Read MoreJames Carroll Napier (1845-1940)
