Ericka Yadira Cruz Escalante became the first Miss Mexico of African descent. With that victory she completed in the Miss Universe pageant in Roberto Clemente Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002. Cruz was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México, on November 16, 1981 to … Read MoreEricka Yadira Cruz Escalante (1981- )
Harriet Elam-Thomas is a diplomat and professor who served as United States Ambassador to Senegal from 1999 to 2002. She retired in 2005 from the U.S. State Department as a Senior Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister. Born on September 15, 1941 … Read MoreHarriet Elam-Thomas (1941- )
Ambassador Mary Jo Wills has worked in international affairs for over three decades. Her service to the United States has taken her to Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Most recently, she held the position of U.S. Ambassador to the island nations of … Read MoreMary Jo Wills (1951- )
Tatiana Silva Braga Tavares is best known as the woman who was crowned Miss Belgium in 2005 and who represented Belgium in the Miss World competition in Sanya, China later that year. Silva was born in the Brussels suburb of Uccle on February 5, 1985. … Read MoreTatiana Silva (1985- )
Rev. Dr. Iyanla Vanzant was born as Rhonda Eva Harris in Brooklyn, New York on September 13, 1953. In 1983, after being ordained as a Yoruba priestess, she renamed herself Iyanla, meaning “great mother.” Vanzant is now a famous relationship coach, author, TV host, ordained … Read MoreIyanla Vanzant (1953- )
Arlene Render became a Foreign Service officer in 1970 and has since served in many influential positions in the U.S. Department of State, including as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs, and ambassador to Gambia, Zambia, and Ivory Coast. In 1994-1995, Render played … Read MoreArlene Render (1943- )
African American artist and dancer Thelma Johnson Streat was born in Yakima, Washington on August 29, 1912, the second of Gertrude Beatrice Carson and James A. Johnson’s five children. Streat’s artistic ability was evident at a young age. She graduated from Washington High School in … Read MoreThelma Beatrice Johnson Streat (1912-1959)
Mabel Mercer was one of the most important jazz cabaret singers of the 20th Century. Her personal singing style emphasizing interpretation, diction, lyrics, and projection over vocal proficiency influenced numerous leading singers including Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Rosemary … Read MoreMabel Alice Wadham Mercer (1900-1984)
Born in Tinton Falls, New Jersey in 1957, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1975. Thinking she might teach overseas, Bernicat earned a teaching credential in social sciences at the secondary level. Rather than … Read MoreMarcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (1957- )
Nell Hardy Carter was an American actress and vocalist who enjoyed a twenty-five year career in film, stage, television, and the recording industry. Born as Nell Ruth Hardy on September 13, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama, she and her eight siblings were raised a low-income neighborhood … Read MoreNell Hardy Carter (1948-2003)
