Emma Harris was a multi-talented African American cultural influencer in Europe, the Russian Empire (later the Soviet Union) as well as the Middle East. Harris was born into a poor family in Georgia on October 7, 1871. Her parents were washerwoman Sarah Green and millworker … Read MoreEmma Harris (1871-1940)
Thomas P. Bostick was the 53rd Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and commanding general of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Bostick is the only African American graduate of the academy to serve as Chief of Engineers and commanding general of the … Read MoreThomas Paul Bostick (1956- )
Robert Lee Satcher Jr., a specialist in child and adult bone cancer, a chemical engineer, and astronaut was born on September 22, 1965, in Hampton, Virginia, to Robert Lee Satcher, from Coffee County, Alabama, and the president of Saint Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia and … Read MoreRobert Lee Satcher Jr. (1965 -)
Captain Theresa Mae Claiborne was the first African American woman to become a U.S. Air Force pilot. Capt. Claiborne referenced the historic Tuskegee Airmen for paving her way to becoming the first Black woman pilot in the Air Force. Theresa Mae Claiborne was born May … Read MoreTheresa M. Claiborne (1959- )
Major George William Ford was an original member of the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) and later a Major with the Second Battalion of the 23rd Kansas Volunteers during the Spanish American War. Ford was born on November 23, 1847, on the Mount Vernon Plantation in … Read MoreGeorge William Ford (1847-1939)
Kay Coles James is a conservative political figure who has served in various government and executive roles. She was most notably the first African American president of the Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank. James was born June 1, 1949, and raised in Richmond, Virginia. She … Read MoreKay Coles James (1949- )
Prominent West Virginia newspaper publisher and politician Matthew Thomas Whittico was born near Martinsville, in Henry County, Virginia, on September 25, 1866. His father, Hezekiah J. Whittico, was a farmer and was the son of Thomas and Catherine Whittico. Under a statute of the period, … Read MoreMatthew T. Whittico (1866-1939)
William Henry West was a Civil War-era African American soldier and later a police officer in Washington, D.C. West was best known for arresting U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. This is the only known record of a sitting United States President being arrested. … Read MoreWilliam Henry West (1842-1915)
Civil rights attorney Louis L. Redding was the first Black man admitted to practice law in Delaware. He argued one of the cases that formed part of the United States Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision. Redding was born on October 25, 1901, … Read MoreLouis L. Redding (1901-1998)
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the current President of Somalia, Union for Peace and Development Party leader, and member of the Abgaal Hawiye clan, was born on November 29, 1955, in the town of Jalalaqsi, in the south-central Hiran province of Somalia. Mohamud attended primary and secondary … Read MoreHassan Sheikh Mohamud (1955- )
