Maria Firmina dos Reis was the founding mother of Afro-Brazilian literature. Úrsula (1859) was the first abolitionist novel written by a woman and it included the perspective of the enslaved. She was born on October 11, 1825 (or March 11, 1822 depending on source) in … Read MoreMaria Firmina dos Reis (1825-1917)
María Elena Moyano Delgado was an Afro-Peruvian community organizer and mother whose assassination by the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) sparked a public outcry bringing attention to her work and the plight of economically marginalized women. Born on November 23, 1958 in Barranco District, Lima to … Read MoreMaría Elena Moyano Delgado (1958-1992)
Lana Michele Moorer is an American DJ, rapper, and actress best known under the stage name MC Lyte. Moorer was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 11, 1970, and by the age of twelve she began rapping using her book of poems and rhymes, … Read MoreMC Lyte/ Lana Moorer (1970- )
Lolita Shanté Gooden is an American rapper best known under the stage name Roxanne Shanté. Gooden was born on November 5, 1969 in Queens, New York. She grew up in the Queensbridge Projects, the largest public housing complex in North America. Gooden started rapping at … Read MoreRoxanne Shanté (1969- )
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand is a Trinidadian American rapper who performs under the name Foxy Brown. Marchand was born on September 6, 1978 in New York City, New York. Her father, Keith Stahler, a welder, is of Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian descent, and her mother, Judith … Read MoreFoxy Brown/Inga Marchand (1978- )
Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was a prolific painter who achieved fame in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and abroad. She also developed her original style which challenged the major trends in Soviet-era art. Arkhipova’s father was Frederick Bruce Thomas, widely known before the Russian Revolution … Read MoreLydia Fedorovna Arkhipova (1914-1997)
Melissa Viviane Jefferson is an American flutist, songwriter, rapper, and singer who performs under the name Lizzo. Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 27, 1988 to Michael Jefferson and Shari Johnson-Jefferson. The family of five lived in Detroit until Jefferson was nine years … Read MoreLizzo (Melissa Jefferson) (1988- )
Melissa “Missy” Arnette Elliott, songwriter, rapper, and music producer, was born on July 1, 1971 to power company dispatcher Patricia Elliott and U.S. Marine Ronnie Elliott at Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia. Elliott had a troubled childhood while the family lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina. … Read MoreMissy Elliott (1971- )
Lyric Contralto and songwriter Mickey Guyton was born in Arlington, Texas, on June 17, 1983, to Michael Eugene Guyton and Phyllis Ann Roddy. However, her name at birth was Candace Mycale Guyton, and she was the second child of four children. As a youth, she … Read MoreMickey Guyton (1983- )
Louise Alone Thompson Patterson, civil rights activist, communist, and educator, was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 9, 1901 to Lulu (Louise) F. Brown Toles and William J. Toles. After her parents 1904 separation, Thompson lived in Seattle, Washington as well as Utah, Nevada, Idaho, … Read MoreLouise Thompson Patterson (1901-1999)
