Fani Taifa Willis is the first Black woman to hold the office of District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. Willis was born on October 27, 1971, in Inglewood, California, and raised by her father, John Clifford Floyd III, in Washington, D.C. Learning at the feet … Read MoreFani Willis (1971- )
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is currently the baseball manager of the Houston Astros and a former major league player. Baker was born on June 15, 1949, to Johnnie B. Baker Sr. and Christine Baker in Riverside, California. Growing up, Baker played various sports, including … Read MoreJohnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. (1949- )
Deion Luwynn Sanders is a college football coach, former professional football player, and baseball player. Sanders was born on August 9, 1967, to Connie and Mims Sanders in Fort Myers, Florida. Sanders’s parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother married Willie … Read MoreDeion Luwynn Sanders (1967- )
The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born on May 12, 1915, in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. Walter was the sixth of nine children of humble beginnings. Information regarding his parents is not … Read MoreWalter Franklin Anderson (1915-2003)
Opera singer Gregory Gardner was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 31, 1950, to Earl Gardner, a singer from Aliceville, Alabama, and Dorothy Davis Gardner, a soprano and piano player from Norfolk. Gregory was one of nine kids. He was introduced to piano studies at … Read MoreGregory Gardner (1950- )
Belford Vance Lawson Jr. was the first African American attorney to win a Supreme Court case. He was born on July 9, 1901, in Roanoke, Virginia. Lawson attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He played for the university football team and was … Read MoreBelford Vance Lawson Jr. (1901-1985)
Queenie Swann, as he was honored by his peers, is one of the first known Black cross-dressers and LGBTQIA activists. He was born William Dorsey Swann in slavery in 1858 and was the property of Ann Murray on her plantation in Hancock, Maryland. This location … Read MoreWilliam Dorsey Swann (1858-1954)
Wes Moore—Rhodes Scholar, banker, and writer—was elected governor of Maryland on November 8, 2022. He is the first African American to hold that office in the state. Moore was born Westley Watende Omari Moore on October 15, 1978, in Washington, D.C., to Westley Moore, a … Read MoreWes Moore (1978- )
Renowned composer and pianist John Daniel Carter was born on April 19, 1932, in St. Louis, Missouri but was reared in Tallahassee, Florida. He was the only child of John Hannibal Carter, a pianist, and his first music teacher, and Lilly Carter. John Carter quickly … Read MoreJohn Daniel Carter (1932-1981)
Danita Johnson is a business executive affiliated with the WNBA, NBA, and NBA G leagues. In December 2020, Johnson was appointed as the third woman and the first Black person to serve as a Major League Soccer (MLS) team president of business operations, for the … Read MoreDanita Johnson (1984- )
