On April 20, 2019, Lori Lightfoot made history when she was elected the 56th Mayor of Chicago. She was the first black woman elected to that office. She was also the first openly gay person to fill the position. Born on August 4, 1962 she … Read MoreLori Lightfoot (1962- )
Dubbed the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” for her culinary genius, Leah Chase was an American chef, author, and TV personality who advanced the Civil Rights Movement as a celebrity chef. Chase was born on January 6, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Catholic Creole parents. … Read MoreLeah “Dooky” Chase (1923-2019)
On October 18, 2016, Deborah Danner, a 66-year-old African American woman, was fatally shot in her Bronx apartment by Sergeant Hugh Barry of the New York Police Department. The shooting occurred after police arrived to investigate a neighbor’s reports of “erratic” behavior. Due to a … Read MoreDeborah J. Danner (1950-2016)
Beatrice Coleman was a pioneering civil rights activist in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1946 she challenged Jim Crow segregation in the city by calling for the enforcement of a recently-enacted anti-discrimination law. In 1952 Coleman was one of the founding members of the Fairbanks chapter of … Read MoreBeatrice Coleman (1908-1982)
Loletha Elayne Falana, famously known as actress, singer, dancer and model Lola Falana, was born on September 11, 1942 in Camden, New Jersey. Falana’s mother and father are of African-American and Afro-Cuban heritage respectively. Falana was born the third of six children and got her … Read MoreLola Falana (1942- )
M. Gayle Dickson, also known as Asali, was the only woman graphic artist for the Black Panther Party Newspaper between 1972 and 1974. Dickson was born in Berkeley, California on June 27, 1948 to James Stowers, a dry cleaner owner, and Madeline Stowers, a seamstress. … Read MoreMadeline Gayle “Asali” Dickson (1948- )
Laura Adorkor Kofi was a religious leader and Pan-Africanist who created the African Universal Church. Kofi was born circa 1895 in a Ga village outside of the city of Accra in Ghana. In the early 1920s, Kofi served as a church pastor in the Asofa … Read MoreLaura Adorkor Kofi (c. 1895-1928)
Effa Louise Manley, one of the first women of any race to run a baseball team, was co-owner, along with her husband Abe Manley, of the Negro League Baseball Team the Newark Eagles. Manley was born on March 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Bertha … Read MoreEffa Louise Manley (1897-1981)
Alyce Chenault Gullattee, M.D., was a prominent Howard University Hospital psychiatrist, civil rights activist, member of Union Temple Baptist Church, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority member, long known to her students and patients as Mimi or Dr. G. She was also an expert on substance … Read MoreAlyce Chenault Gullattee (1928-2020)
Inarguably, one of the leading figures in African and African American history is Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey, known as “Aggrey of Africa.” Not only can Africa claim him, but also the African Diaspora. Aggrey was born on October 18, 1875, at Anomabo in the … Read MoreJames Emmanuel Kwegyir Aggrey (1875-1927)
