Image Ownership: Public domain Physicist and university administrator Robert Ambrose Thornton was born in Houston, Texas, on May 6, 1902 to Frank Thornton, a laborer, and the former Mary Jane Sullivan, a midwife. Thornton attended Houston Colored High School but later graduated from Los Angeles … Read MoreRobert Ambrose Thornton (1902-1982)
Maritza Correia is former Olympic swimmer for the USA team, who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Correia is the first Puerto Rican of African descent to compete on the USA Olympic Swimming Team. Correia was born on December 23, 1981, in San Juan, Puerto … Read MoreMaritza Correia (1981- )
John Raymond Jones, also known as the Harlem Fox, was a Harlem politician and the first African American to lead New York City, New York’s Tammany Hall. Jones was born on November 19, 1899, in Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. At the … Read MoreJohn Raymond Jones (1899–1991)
Ann Gregory was a pioneering African American female golfer. Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on July 25, 1912, Gregory was the middle child of five born to Henry and Myra Moore. Her parents died in a car accident when she was four, and their former employer, … Read MoreAnn Moore Gregory (1912-1990)
Julian Hudson Mayfield was best known as an American actor, director, writer, lecturer, and civil rights activist. Mayfield was born on June 6, 1928, in Greer, South Carolina, and was raised from the age of five in Washington. He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School … Read MoreJulian Mayfield (1928-1984)
Marvin Ellison is the current CEO of Lowe’s, a hardware and home improvement store chain, since July 2018 and the first African American to hold that post. He was previously President and CEO of JCPenney, where he was also the first African American head of … Read MoreMarvin Ellison (1966- )
Ericka Yadira Cruz Escalante became the first Miss Mexico of African descent. With that victory she completed in the Miss Universe pageant in Roberto Clemente Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002. Cruz was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México, on November 16, 1981 to … Read MoreEricka Yadira Cruz Escalante (1981- )
Santo Domingo de Guzman, the capital of the Dominican Republic and the cultural, financial, and industrial center of the nation, was founded in 1496 by Bartholomew Columbus, the younger brother of Christopher Columbus. Situated on the southeastern coast of the island of Hispaniola (which The … Read MoreSanto Domingo de Guzman, The Dominican Republic (1496- )
Born March 19, 1784 in the northern coastal territory of La Guajira, Colombia, José Padilla is recognized as one of the first South American-born naval commanders, a founder of the Colombian navy, and a hero in the Latin American wars of independence and the Afro-Hispanic … Read MoreJosé Prudencio Padilla Lopez (1784-1828)
“Image Ownership: Nightscream” Geoffrey Lamont Holder, acclaimed choreographer and legendary figure in the dance world, was also a respected actor, Tony Award-winning director, costume designer, singer, music composer, voice-over artist, orator, painter, sculptor, and photographer. Holder was born to a middle-class family in Port of … Read MoreGeoffrey Lamont Holder (1930-2014)
