“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Former president and president emeritus of Howard University, Dr. James Edward Cheek is credited with major changes and improvements to one of the oldest historically African American institutions of higher education during his twenty-year tenure. James Edward Cheek was born on … Read MoreJames Edward Cheek (1932–2010)
Walter Arthur Gordon, attorney and civil rights activist, was born on October 10, 1894, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Henry B. and Georgia Bryant Gordon. He was the son of a Pullman porter and the grandson of slaves. His family moved to Riverside, California, in 1904. … Read MoreWalter Arthur Gordon (1894-1976)
“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)
Named Career Ambassador, a title equivalent to a four-star general, U.S. ambassador to six different countries, Terence A. Todman was an outstanding diplomat in the service of the United States. He challenged the racial prejudice he encountered at the State Department, paving the way for … Read MoreTerence A. Todman (1926-2014)
African American engineer, architect, and mathematician Archie Alphonso Alexander was born on May 14, 1888 in Ottumwa, Iowa, the oldest of Price Alexander’s and Mary Hamilton Alexander’s nine children. In order to help his educational opportunities, when he was 11 years old Alexander’s family moved … Read MoreArchie Alphonso Alexander (1888-1958)
The Church of St. Mark in Brooklyn, New York was originally established by a group of black Episcopalians in 1838. The next year, Dr. Samuel M. Haskins was asked to be rector (pastor), the role he would maintain for 60 years. By April 1841 the … Read MoreThe Church of St. Mark, Brooklyn, New York (1838- )
Harold Bethuel Evans, research chemist, was born on October 31, 1907 in Brazil, Indiana. Evans attended Michigan State University for his undergraduate degree beginning in 1927; he majored in applied science and graduated in 1931. In 1932 he received his master’s degree in science from … Read MoreHarold Bethuel Evans (1907-1995)
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 24, 1919, Harold Delaney was one of several African American scientists to work on the Manhattan Project in World War II. The eldest child of William and Henriette Delaney, Harold had four sisters, Mildred, Gertrude, Laura, and Ethel, and a … Read MoreHarold Delaney (1919-1994)
Image Ownership: All-Pro Reels (CC BY-SA 2.0) National Basketball Association star player Walt “Clyde” Frazier Jr., was born the oldest of nine children in Atlanta, Georgia on March 29, 1945. While attending the segregated Howard High School in Atlanta, Frazier excelled in football, baseball, and … Read MoreWalt Frazier (1945- )
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a public university located on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, the United States Virgin Islands. It was established in 1962. In 1986 it officially became one of the 117 U.S. Historically Black Colleges and … Read MoreUniversity of the Virgin Islands (1962- )
