Canzetta Maria Staton was born on March 13, 1940, in Hanceville, Alabama. Her father worked as a farmer and a coal miner and her mother was a homemaker. At age eight, Staton was already singing in a gospel group, the Four Golden Echoes, with her … Read MoreCandi Staton (1940 – )
Sarah Rector received international attention at the age of eleven when The Kansas City Star in 1913 publicized the headline, “Millions to a Negro Girl.” From that moment Rector’s life became a cauldron of misinformation, legal and financial maneuvering, and public speculation. Rector was born … Read MoreSarah Rector (1902–1967)
Gail Fisher was already a popular model in African American newspapers and magazines, as well as a theater actress when, in the late 1950s, she starred in The New Girl in the Office, a film about integrating a hitherto all-white office staff of a white-owned … Read MoreGail Fisher (1935-2000)
Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born on February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Her father Laron Flack was a self-taught jazz pianist and her mother, Irene Flack, was church pianist. At the age of nine her family moved to Arlington, Virginia. There she began … Read MoreRoberta Flack (1937- )
Born in Gainesville, Florida on February 7, 1882, Emma Rochelle Wheeler had gained an interest in medicine at the young age of six after her father had taken her to a white female doctor for an eye problem. Seeing the rare female doctor persuaded young … Read MoreEmma Rochelle Wheeler (1882-1957)
Sarah Fraser, born Sarah Marinda Loguen, was the first African American woman to graduate from the Syracuse University College of Medicine. She was also one of the first African American female physicians specializing in obstetrics and pediatrics. Sarah Loguen was born on January 29, 1850, … Read MoreSarah Loguen Fraser (1850-1933)
Claudette Colvin, a nurse’s aide and Civil Rights Movement activist, was born on September 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her parents were Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. Austin, but she was raised by her great-aunt and great-uncle, Mary Ann and Q.P. Colvin. Claudette Colvin and … Read MoreClaudette Colvin (1935- )
Legendary dancer, choreographer, and actor Carmen de Lavallade came to prominence in the early 1950s when black artists came into their own in the world of American dance on Broadway, in film, and on television. De Lavallade was born on March 6, 1931, in Los … Read MoreCarmen Paula de Lavallade (1931- )
In 1951 Janet Collins became the first black prima ballerina to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City, New York. As such she broke one of the last major color barriers in classical ballet. Janet Collins was born on March 2, 1917 … Read MoreJanet Faye Collins (1917-2003)
Rosemarie Florence Freeney Harding was a tireless teacher, social worker, civil rights leader, and healer. She was especially known for her deep spirituality and commitment to nonviolence. The youngest of nine siblings, Harding was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 24, 1930 to Dock Freeney, … Read MoreRosemarie Florence Freeney Harding (1930-2004)
