Dr. Oscar James Cooper, a physician, is most remembered as one of the co-founders of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the first Greek letter fraternity founded by students at an HBCU (Howard University). Other cofounders were his classmates Edgar Amos Love and Frank Coleman and … Read MoreOscar James Cooper (1888–1972)
Six-foot-eight NBA Superstar legend Connie Hawkins, one of the first basketball players capable of swooping and soaring in flights to the hoop, was born Cornelius Lance Hawkins on July 17, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. A playground legend, he was dunking at the age of … Read MoreConnie Hawkins (1942-2017)
Anthony “Spice” Adams is a former American football player for the National Football League (NFL), actor, comedian, and television host. He was born on June 18, 1980, to Anthony Adams Sr. and Constance Davis in Detroit, Michigan. Adams, who had two siblings, attended Martin Luther … Read MoreAnthony “Spice” Adams (1980- )
On September 6, 1966, Charles DeLesline Foster became the first African American to enroll in The Citadel Corps of Cadets, the military institution in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1842. Foster was born on November 26, 1948, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to … Read MoreCharles DeLesline Foster (1948-1986)
Robert Charles O’Hara Benjamin, also known as R.C.O. Benjamin, was a Caribbean-born political activist, newspaper editor, minister, poet, teacher, author, and lawyer. He was born on the island of St. Kitts on March 31, 1855. Information about his parents is unknown, but we do know … Read MoreRobert Charles O’Hara Benjamin (1855-1900)
Beny Jene Primm, a pioneer in HIV/AIDS research and treatment and an anesthesiologist, was born on May 21, 1928, in Williamson, West Virginia, to a funeral director father, George Oliver Primm, and a mother, Willie Henrietta Martin Primm, who taught school. He had one brother, … Read MoreBeny Jene Primm (1928-2015)
Clarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston is a baseball manager, coach, and outfielder. He became the first African American baseball manager to win the World Series when the Toronto Blue Jays won in 1992. Clarence Gaston was born to Sammy Gaston and Gertrude Coley on March 17, … Read MoreClarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston (1944- )
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is currently the baseball manager of the Houston Astros and a former major league player. Baker was born on June 15, 1949, to Johnnie B. Baker Sr. and Christine Baker in Riverside, California. Growing up, Baker played various sports, including … Read MoreJohnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. (1949- )
Robert Jones Abele was one of six founding members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter Fraternity in the United States. The five others were Henry Minton, Algernon Jackson, Edwin Howard, Eugene Theodore Hinson, and Richard John Warrick, Jr. Abele was … Read MoreRobert Jones Abele (1875-1929)
Born on December 29, 1880, Richard John Warrick Jr. was one of six founding members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter Fraternity in the nation. The others were Henry Minton, Algernon Jackson, Edwin Howard, Robert Jones Abele, and Eugene Hinson. … Read MoreRichard John Warrick, Jr. (1880-1957)
