Octavius Valentine Catto was a prominent Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, activist, scholar, athlete, and military officer in the National Guard during the Civil War. Catto was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 22, 1839. His mother, Sarah Isabella Cain, a free woman, was a descendant of … Read MoreOctavius Valentine Catto (1839-1871)
“Image Ownership: Evan Vucci/AP” Political scientist and civil rights activist Ronald Walters was born in July 20, 1938 in Wichita, Kansas to parents Gilmar, a veteran and jazz musician, and Maxine Fray Walters, a civil rights investigator. In the summer of 1958 he organized the … Read MoreRonald Walters (1938-2010)
Rob Nabors was the Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. President Barack Obama. Previously, Nabors served as the Director of Legislative Affairs in the Obama Administration, as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and as Senior Advisor to former Chief of Staff … Read MoreRob Nabors (1971- )
Dean P. Baquet is primarily known as a Pulitzer Prize winner in journalism and the first African American executive editor of the New York Times. Baquet was born on September 21, 1956 in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a middle class family which included four other … Read MoreDean P. Baquet (1956- )
Addison Scurlock, photographer, was born to attorney George Clay Scurlock and wife Nannie in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 19, 1883. In 1900, his family moved to Washington, D.C. where in 1900, 17-year-old Scurlock began an apprenticeship under Moses P. Rice, a prominent white photographer … Read MoreAddison Scurlock (1883-1964)
Anthony Foxx, the seventeenth United States Secretary of Transportation, was born April 30, 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised by his mother, Laura Foxx, and grandparents James and Mary Foxx. He graduated from West Charlotte High School in 1989, and four years later received … Read MoreAnthony Renard Foxx (1971- )
Mary Cardwell Dawson established the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC) in 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in North Carolina, Dawson graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1925, the only African American in her class. Facing discrimination in her aspiration for a career … Read MoreNational Negro Opera Company (1941-1962)
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)
Donald Byrd (Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II) was born on December 9, 1932, in Detroit, Michigan; his father was amateur musician and Methodist minister D.T. Byrd. He attended Cass Technical High School, had a stint in the US Air Force, graduated from Wayne State University, … Read MoreDonald Byrd (1932-2013)
Born January 25, 1959 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, Jean-Léonard Touadi, one of 10 children of a civil servant, immigrated to Italy in 1979 where he became a journalist, university lecturer, the author of several books, and a pioneering politician. A devout Roman Catholic … Read MoreJean-Léonard Touadi (1959- )
