Edwin Clarence Joseph Turpin Howard was the first African-American graduate of Harvard Medical College and also one of the founding members of the oldest African-American Greek-lettered organization, Sigma Pi Phi. Howard was born on October 21, 1846 in Boston, Massachusetts to Joan Louise Turpin Howard … Read MoreEdwin Clarence Joseph Turpin Howard (1846-1912)
Educator and politician Lansiné Kaba was born in 1941 in the city of Kankan, Guinea when Guinea was still under French colonial rule. In Guinea, he was educated through the traditional Education system as well as Muslim teachers. He moved to France in 1956 where … Read MoreLansiné Kaba (1941- )
Algernon Brashear Jackson was a columnist, author, physician, surgeon and one of the foundering members of Sigma Pi Phi, the oldest African-American Greek letter organization. Jackson was born on May 21, 1878 to Charles and Sarah (Brashear) Jackson in Princeton, Indiana. His father was African … Read MoreAlgernon Brashear Jackson (1878-1942)
John Edward James is an Iraq War Veteran, businessman, and former Republican United States Senate candidate from Michigan. James became a rising star in the Republican Party after defeating Sandy Pensler, another Michigan businessman, in the 2018 Michigan GOP Senate primary. James went on to … Read MoreJohn Edward James (1969- )
Chaka Fattah is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented the 2nd Congressional District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2016. Fattah resigned from office on June 23, 2016, following a racketeering conviction. On December 12, 2016, Fattah was sentenced … Read MoreChaka Fattah (1956 – )
Julia Pearl Hughes (Coleman-Robinson) was the first African American woman to successfully own and operate her own drugstore. Hughes was born to John and Mary Hughes in Melville Township, Alamance County, North Carolina. She attended the local schools and graduated in 1893 from Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College) … Read MoreJulia Pearl Hughes (1873-1950)
William McBryar was a biracial buffalo soldier whose received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the 1890 Cherry Creek Campaign in Arizona Territory. McBryar was born on February 14, 1861 in Elizabethtown, North Carolina to Rose McBryar, an African American, and a white father whose name is unknown. McBryar attended … Read MoreWilliam McBryar (1861-1941)
Lewis Morrison was one of the most prominent stage actors of his time. He was best known worldwide for his portrayal of “Mephistopheles” in Faust. He was also the first black Jewish officer to serve during the Civil War. Lewis Morrison was born in Kingston, … Read MoreMorris W. Morris/ Lewis Morrison (1845-1906)
Toussaint Tourgee Tildon was a physician and psychiatrist with the Hospital for Sick and Injured Colored World War Veterans (1923), later named the Veterans Administration of Tuskegee, Alabama (1923) from October 1923 until his retirement as Hospital Director on January 31, 1958. Tildon’s writing on African American veterans appeared in the VA Medical Bulletin (1925) and the Journal … Read MoreToussaint Tourgee Tildon, M.D. (1893-1964)
William Henry Cosby, Jr., one of America’s most influential and successful entertainers, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1937 to William Henry, a U.S. Navy cook, and Anna Pearl Cosby, a maid. The family struggled financially, and moved into Philadelphia’s crime-ridden Richard Allen … Read MoreBill Cosby (1937– )