Politician and immigrant and women’s rights advocate Mercedes Lourdes Frias was born in the municipality of San Antonio de Guerra, Dominican Republic, on October 28, 1962. The daughter of a stevedore and a washerwoman, she earned her degree in geography at the Autonomous University of … Read MoreMercedes Frias (1962- )
Beauty pageant queen, model, and actress Denny Andreina Méndez de la Rosa was born on July 20, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her mother, Lidia Chavez, who had divorced her biological father, met a vacationing Italian, Sergio Casabianca, who became her stepfather. At age five, … Read MoreDenny Méndez (1978- )
Radmilla Cody, GRAMMY-nominated Navajo recording artist, was born on the Navajo Nation and grew up in Grand Falls, Arizona. Cody is of the Tlaa’shchii (Red Bottom People) clan and is also part Naahilii (African American). She was the 46th Miss Navajo Nation, the first bi-racial pageant … Read MoreRadmilla Cody (1975- )
Expatriate novelist, journalist, and memoirist Andrea Lee was raised in a well-to-do African American family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The youngest of three children, her father was a Baptist minister and her mother an elementary school teacher. The product of private school education, she recalls both … Read MoreAndrea Lee (1953- )
An Italian government official and medical professional, Cécile Kyenge Kashetu was born in the mining town of Kambove, Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1983 she moved to Italy and worked as a maid while studying medicine and surgery at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore … Read MoreCécile Kyenge (1964- )
Sandra “Sandy” Maria Cane was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the younger of two daughters of an African American father, a US Army paratrooper during World War II, and an Italian mother, whose family had established a stonemason business in northern France. At age 10, in … Read MoreSandy Cane (1961- )
Critically acclaimed actor Cicely Tyson was born in Harlem, New York City, New York on December 19, 1933. Her parents, William and Theodosia Tyson, were immigrants from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a … Read MoreCicely Tyson (1933-2021)
Broadway performer and film actress, Ruby Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio on October 27, 1924 to Gladys Hightower and Marshall Edward Wallace. Her mother was a domestic and her father worked as a cook, waiter, and porter. After her mother left … Read MoreRuby Ann Wallace Dee (1924-2014)
Dorothy Love Coates was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and composer. She was born Dorothy McGriff on January 30, 1928, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her minister father, Lillar McGriff, moved to the North when Coates was six, and her parents soon divorced. Thereafter, Lillar McGriff raised … Read MoreDorothy Love Coates (1928-2002)
Marion Williams, an American gospel singer, was born in Miami, Florida on August 29, 1927. Her father, originally from Nassau, Bahamas, worked as a butcher, a barber, and a music teacher while her mother, born in South Carolina, worked as a laundress. One of 11 … Read MoreMarion Williams (1927-1994)
