Fabián Jesús Colón López, Afro-Puerto Rican Marxist, socialist, communist, writer, and political and community activist, was born on January 20, 1901 in Cayey, Puerto Rico (PR), to Paula López Colón (1874-1927), a domestic worker, and Mauricio Colón Coto (1863-1920), a baker, jointer, artisan, and US … Read MoreJesús Colón (1901-1974)
Dominga de la Cruz-Becerril, socialist, lecturer, poet, and declamadora, was born April 22, 1909 in Bueno Aires, Ponce, Puerto Rico (PR) to Catalina Becerril of Fajardo and Domingo Clarillo Cruz of Ponce. Reared in Mayagüez, both parents and godparents died while she was a pre-teen. … Read MoreDominga Cruz-Becerril (1909-1981)
Yvonne Denis-Rosario, columnist, librettist, narrator, novelist, poet, professor, radio/ TV host and producer, was born March 9, 1967 in San Juan, Puerto Rico (PR) to Alejandrina Rosario Román, a public employee, and Juan Denis Estrada, a dry cleaning business owner. One of seven siblings, her … Read MoreYvonne Denis-Rosario, (1967- )
Jesús Abraham “Tato” Laviera Sánchez, community activist, poet, declamador, playwright, author, and “a chronicler of life in El Barrio,” was born May 9, 1951 in Santurce, Puerto Rico to Maria Sánchez Ramos, an embroiderer, and Pablo Laviera Ramírez, a political nationalist, bricklayer, and contactor. Laviera … Read MoreTato Laviera (1951-2013)
Pura Teresa Belpré y Nogueras, author, librarian, storyteller, folklorist, and puppeteer, was born on February 2, 1903 in Cidra, Puerto Rico to Carlota Nogueras, homemaker, and Felipe Belpré y Bernabé, a building contractor. Belpré attended schools in Arroyo, Cayey, Guayama, San Juan and graduated from … Read MorePura Belpré (1903-1982)
Marcella Nunez is a physician and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine. Most recently she was appointed by President-Elect Joe Biden to be one of three co-chairs of his National COVID-19 Advisory Board, the highest-ranking group in the U.S. studying … Read MoreMarcella Nunez-Smith (1981- )
Philip “Felipe” Luciano, poet, activist, musicologist, and journalist was born November 24, 1947 in East Harlem to Aurora Olmo Luciano, a factory worker and practical nurse, and Joseph Luciano, Jr., He was reared in East Harlem and Brownsville. Aurora, a devout Pentecostal, read extensively to … Read MoreFelipe Luciano (1947- )
Activist, existential philosopher, professor, and Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. William “Bill” Ronald Jones dedicated his career to the analysis and methods of oppression, religious humanism, and liberation theology that influenced Africana philosophers such as Anthony B. Pinn and Lewis R. Gordon. Born July 17, … Read MoreBill Jones (1933-2012)
For over thirty years Sylvia Luz del Villard Güilbert gave global lectures and performances on the African influence in Puerto Rico (PR) as an activist, actress, artist, ballerina, choreographer, coloratura, dancer, declamadora, folklorist, lecturer, orator, painter, teacher, singer, and writer. Reared by Paula Moreno Herrera, … Read MoreSylvia del Villard (1927-1990)
Miriam Esther Jiménez Román, professor, editor, archivist, curator, social theorist, author, and activist was born on June 11, 1951 in the coastal city of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Arcelia Román Ruiz (1931-2009) of Vega Baja and Afro-Puerto Rican Baldomero Jiménez Font (1928-1999) of Piedras Blancas. … Read MoreMiriam Jiménez Román (1951-2020)
