Amy Holmes is a news anchor and political commentator who appeared on Glenn Beck’s The Blaze TV, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. Holmes was born on July 25, 1973 in Lusaka, Zambia to an African father and white mother from Seattle, Washington. Her parents divorced … Read MoreAmy Holmes (1973- )
Margaret Lawrence, the first African American psychoanalyst and the first pediatric psychiatrist in the United States, is author of Young Inner City Families: Development of Ego Strength under Stress (New York, Behavioral Publications, 1975) and The Mental Health Team in the Schools (New York: Behavioral Publications, … Read MoreMargaret Cornelia Morgan Lawrence (1914-2019)
Aubrey “Drake” Graham is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, actor, and songwriter. Drake was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Sandi Graham, a Jewish Canadian, and Dennis Graham, a black drummer from Memphis, Tennessee. The couple divorced when Drake was five years-old. … Read MoreAubrey Drake Graham (1986- )
Ora Mae Washington was the first prominent African American athlete to dominate two sports, tennis and basketball. Born on January 23, 1898, in Caroline County, Virginia, she was the daughter of James “Tommy” and Laura O. Young-Washington. Washington’s family moved north in search of opportunity … Read MoreOra Washington (1898-1971)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Irene McCoy Gaines was a civil rights activist and a community leader. Born October 25, 1892, in Ocala, Florida, to Charles and Mamie McCoy, she had one older sister who died while Gaines was a child. Her family moved to Chicago, … Read MoreIrene McCoy Gaines (1892-1964)
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) was the designation given to the approximately 175 regiments of non-white soldiers that served during the Civil War. The troops were primarily African American, but Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders were all included within the ranks, as … Read MoreThe United States Colored Troops (1863-1865)
William Henry Hunt, African American U.S. diplomat, was born a slave in Tennessee in 1863. Hunt claimed to have been born on June 29, 1869, so he could get into school at the age of twenty-six posing as a twenty-year-old, a lie he kept to … Read MoreWilliam Henry Hunt (1863-1951)
John and Mary Slaughter, 2017 Image Ownership: Public domain John Slaughter was the first professional employee hired by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to work at the Hanford Energy site in the Tri-Cities, Washington. Very little is known about Slaughter’s childhood beyond his birth in … Read MoreJohn Slaughter (1933- )
James Melvin “Jimmie” Lunceford, a popular band leader during the swing era, was born near Fulton, Mississippi, in Itawamba County to James Leonard and Beulah Idella Tucker Lunceford in June, 1902. His grandparents, Daniel and Gracie Lunceford, had arrived in Mississippi as slaves from North … Read MoreJimmie M. Lunceford (1902-1947)
Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. is a retired American football player who spent his entire professional career with the Baltimore (Maryland) Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Lewis played college football for the University of Miami (Florida) where he earned all-American honors. After college, Lewis … Read MoreRaymond Anthony Lewis, Jr. (1975- )
