Late 20th Century drug lord Ricky Donnell Ross was born on January 26th, 1960 in Troup, Texas. He is better known as “Freeway Rick,” the convicted drug trafficker turned philanthropist who established himself as kingpin in the 1980’s. Ross grew up in Los Angeles, California, moving there in 1963 … Read MoreFreeway Rick Ross (1960- )
Born February 10, 1932, Vivienne Malone-Mayes was the fifth African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. Malone-Mayes grew up in Waco, Texas, and in 1948, she graduated from A.J. Moore High School when she was only 16 years old. Although her high school in Waco was segregated, she … Read MoreVivienne Malone-Mayes (1932-1995)
Lieutenant General William E. Brown, Jr. is a former United States Air Force pilot, former commander of Allied Air Forces Southern Europe and former deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces in Southern Europe. Brown ended his military career with over 5,100 flying hours, the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of … Read MoreWilliam E. Brown, Jr. (1927- )
Born January 17, 1942 in Columbus, Georgia, Albert J. Edmonds was a career officer in the United States Air Force who eventually achieved the rank of Lieutenant General. Edmonds graduated from Spencer High School in Columbus and then earned a bachelor’s degree n chemistry from Morris Brown College in 1964 … Read MoreAlbert J. Edmonds (1942- )
Politician and lawyer Sylvester Turner was born in the Acres Homes community in northwest Houston, Texas on September 27, 1954. He was elected mayor of Houston in 2015 thus becoming the city’s second African American mayor. Turner was raised among eight other brothers and sisters by his mother, a maid, … Read MoreSylvester Turner (1954- )
Major General Marcelite J. Harris of the U.S. Air Force was born on January 16, 1943 in Houston, Texas to Cecil O’Neal Jordan and Marcelite Terrill Jordan, Harris grew up in Houston and graduated from Kashmere High School in 1960 before enrolling at Spelman College where she earned a bachelors in … Read MoreMarcelite J. Harris (1943- )
Maceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr., historian, professor, publisher, and academic administrator, was born July 4, 1943 in Norfolk, Virginia to Marguerite L. Britton, a Manheimer Pharmacy clerk, and Maceo C. Dailey, Sr., a Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard steel worker. Dailey was the oldest of eight children. At six, his family moved … Read MoreMaceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr. (1943-2015)
Bernard P. Randolph, career Air Force officer, was born on July 10, 1933 to Phillip J. Randolph and Claudia Randolph, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1954. In 1964, he earned a Bachelor … Read MoreBernard Peter Randolph (1933- )
Constructed in 1910 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie’s library development program, the Carnegie Library of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was the first free public library intended for African Americans in the state of Mississippi and one of the first African American public libraries in the country. It served … Read MoreCarnegie Library, Mound Bayou, Mississippi (1910-1935)
On November 3, 1970, in Syracuse, New York, Jeanette J. Epps was born to parents Henry and Luberta Epps. She was born, with her twin sister, Janet, as the youngest of seven with two other sisters and three brothers. Epps graduated from Thomas J. Corcoran High … Read MoreJeanette J. Epps (1970- )
