1966— Chess player Maurice Ashley helped shatter stereotypes by becoming the top-ranked black chess player in the world, as well as by coaching championship school teams made up mostly of minority children. "For kids, it's what they see," he said in the New Yorker. "And they don't see black chess players—no blacks in intellectual fields at all. It&#…
1946— Publisher When Arnold A. Auguste left his native Trinidad for Canada, he planned on pursuing a journalism career. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a place to work that matched his ideals. "I didn't originally set out to own a paper, I just wanted to write," he told The Eye Opener. Steeped in equal doses of debt and optimism, Auguste began publishing Share, a…
1948— U.S. Senate Chaplain, Chief Navy Chaplain In June of 2003 Rear Admiral Barry C. Black was appointed the 62nd Chaplain to the United States Senate. His nomination by then-President Bill Clinton and the Secretary of the Navy during Black's tenure as Chief of Navy Chaplains was acknowledgement of a long and illustrious military career and indeed a special relationship with God. Th…
1896-1977 Judge, attorney, civil rights activist Considered the father of the Pennsylvania state Fair Employment Practices Act and the first African-American judge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Homer S. Brown was a civil and political rights activist for most of his life. For over fifty years, from the time he received his law degree in 1923 until illness forced him to retire two years before his d…
1980— Actor, writer, musician A promising young actor who has demonstrated box-office appeal to both black and white audiences, Nick Cannon has been called the Tom Cruise of his generation. In addition to performing, he has also written and produced material for television and film and has written and recorded an album. Attractive, charming, and a self-described workaholic, Cannon "h…
1931-1992 Educator, author, poet Wilfred George Onslow Cartey is remembered for his work as an author, editor, compiler, and critic of African and Caribbean literature. Blind since he was a young adult, Cartey had a distinguished career as a scholar and lecturer, spending the majority of his career as a professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) and publishing extensively. Cartey was born…
1936-1999 Basketball player Few individual athletes have ever excelled at a sport as spectacularly as Wilt Chamberlain, the 7' 1" center who dominated professional basketball for more than 14 seasons beginning in 1959. Chamberlain, or "Wilt the Stilt" as he was often known, is enshrined in record books and memories for a legendary 1962 performance in which he scored 100…
1956— Professional basketball player and coach Cheeks, Maurice, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Maurice Cheeks played point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 15 years. During his long career, the 6-foot, 1-inch tall Cheeks was known for his speed, his ability to handle the ball, his consistent play, and his work ethic. Never one to seek out the spotlight, he wa…
1922(?)-1990 Professional basketball player One of the first three African-American players in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was actually the first under official contract to play in the league. He was a "first" in another way as well: he might be considered the NBA's first black star. While Chuck Cooper and Earl Lloyd, Clift…
1926-1984 Professional basketball pioneer The man who officially integrated professional basketball when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in April of 1950, Chuck Cooper was a modest figure who specialized in offensive team play and generally stayed away from the spotlight. Like other early African-American players in the NBA, his experiences in the …
1954— Martial arts master and teacher Through a lifetime of hard work, Michael Copeland has become both an example and a teacher of what can be accomplished when desire is combined with determination. Beginning as a young boy trying to find a way to protect himself from the attacks of older boys, Copeland devoted his life to the study of Asian arts of self-defense. In the process, he not on…
1944— Journalist Dash, Leon, photograph. Brian Johnson, Department of Journalism, University of Illinois Leon Dash won American journalism's top honor, a Pulitzer Prize, for his 1994 series about a District of Columbia grandmother and her family, "Rosa Lee's Story." The series appeared in the Washington Post, where Dash had been an investigative reporter f…
1905-1987 Poet, journalist A central figure in African-American literary history, Frank Marshall Davis was a poet whose work drew on and put a personal stamp on many of the trends in black poetry of the 1930s and 1940s. He was influenced by jazz and tried to evoke its rhythms in words. He drew detailed portraits of urban African-American life. And like Langston Hughes and many of his other contemp…
1915-2003 U.S. Foreign Service employee Mary Pearl Dougherty had few African-American contemporaries, and fewer still who were women, when she began her career with the United States Foreign Service in the 1940s. She was not an ambassador but a secretary, and histories of the U.S. State Department and diplomatic corps have little to say about her. But her knowledge of the diplomatic world was deep…
1950— Basketball player, basketball executive So much has been written and said about Julius Erving over the years that it is difficult to say what is most important about him. He will go down in history as one of the basketball pioneers who took a sport that had been traditionally played on a wooden floor and changed it so that it was played in mid-air, and he popularized a form of scoring…
1932— Fiction writer, poet Ronald L. Fair's body of work displays contradictory qualities. On one hand, he was a realistic chronicler of the lives of urban African Americans in the 1960s, one who captured the disillusionment of blacks who fled Southern white racism only to discover that Northern cities brought oppression and dislocation of a different kind. On the other, he was a lit…
1933-2003 Illustrator If any man should be regarded as the personification of the "black is beautiful" philosophy, that man is Tom Feelings. Feelings spent a lifetime as a painter, sculptor, and book illustrator underscoring this message. From the dawn of the U.S. civil rights era, when he came of age as an artist, Feelings was passionately committed to the mission of encouraging bla…
1946— Singer, Songwriter, Minister Considered by music writers as the last true successor of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, Al Green has enjoyed a long and rewarding career as a pop and gospel singer. His pop and religious works have earned consistent praise from musicians and critics alike. Unlike the great R&B shouters and early soul singers, Green has a voice that, although capable o…
19(??)— International Grand Polemarch, Kappa Alpha Psi, business executive Samuel C. Hamilton, who became the highest office holder in the historically black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi in 2003, has also been recognized as a prominent business and community leader. Through his professional and civic affiliations, he helped to implement such programs as small business funding and development,…
1952— Library director Carla D. Hayden served as president of the American Library Association for a one-year term beginning in 2003. A veteran of the Chicago and Baltimore public library systems, Hayden won praise for taking a tough stance against the Patriot Act of 2001, a federal law which forced public libraries to comply with Federal Bureau of Investigation requests about patrons…
195(?)— Fashion Designer Hendy, Francis, photograph. Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com Since learning the art of sewing at his mother's knee in Trinidad, Francis Hendy has been quietly building a fashion legacy. Known for his innovative mix of materials and skins, Hendy has dressed everyone from fellow Trinidadians to Carnival goers, rap stars to New York fashionistas. All have been se…
1970— Track athlete, middle distance runner Holmes, Kelly, photograph. © Reuters/Corbis Despite problems with injury Kelly Holmes was one of Great Britain's most promising track athletes of the 1990s and the first few years of the twenty-first century. Although she won medals in previous Olympic, Commonwealth, and World Championship competitions, her greatest career succe…
1908-2003 Negro Leagues baseball star The full and fascinating history of baseball's Negro Leagues remains to be written. While African-American baseball players gained attention from white audiences in the years before and just after the integration of Major League Baseball in 1947, and "Satchel" Paige and other charismatic players became household names, many other highly ta…
1973— Army specialist Johnson, Shoshana, photograph. Mike Theiler/Getty Images. U.S. Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson was captured by Iraqi forces during the first week of the 2003 U.S.-led war against Iraq, and became the first African-American female prisoner of war (P.O.W.) in U.S. history. Images of a frightened and injured Johnson were televised around the world shortly after he…
196?— R&B vocalist, songwriter Kem, photograph. Quantrell Colbert/Getty Images. Kem has carved a niche for himself in the music world. His jazz-influenced contemporary R&B vocal styles are claiming a loyal following in an African-American musical environment dominated by hip-hop sounds. When he signed to the venerable Motown music label and his debut release, Kemistry, …
1962— Nigerian singer, songwriter, bandleader Nigeria's Femi Kuti calls his band Positive Force, and that name illustrates some of the differences between Kuti and his famous father. Kuti is the son of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, an icon of Nigerian music whose protest lyrics were a constant thorn in the side of the country's military government, and who often ended up in prison as a…
1948— Professional basketball player, businessman Bob Lanier—6-foot, 11-inches tall and filling size 22 shoes—entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1970 as the number one draft pick of the Detroit Pistons. He played nine and one-half seasons for the Pistons and four and one-half seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks. During his 14 years in the NBA, Lanier amassed 19,2…
1952— Actor Lumbly, Carl, photograph. © Glenn Weiner/Auma/Corbis. In the role of Agent Dixon on the hit television program Alias in the early 2000s, Carl Lumbly conveyed a streak of edgy intensity lurking beneath the veneer of a traditional supporting actor's sidekick part. That intensity has run through much of Lumbly's acting work and has its roots in the dynamic…
1973— Professional football player The starting quarterback for the National Football League's Tennessee Titans, Steve McNair has developed into one of the most effective quarterbacks in the league. Following a spectacular college career, McNair progressed smoothly as a pro player. By 2003, he had led the Titans to the Super Bowl, though not to victory, and shared the title of the le…
1952— Actor Merkerson, S. Epatha, photograph. © Michael Kim/Corbis. S. Epatha Merkerson has made a name for herself playing Lt. Anita Van Buren on the long-running, Emmy award-winning police drama, Law & Order. For more than a decade, fans have tuned in to watch the show's ensemble cast portray gritty, often straight-from-the-headlines, New York crime stories. Merk…
1960(?)— Sports executive Mills, Steve, photograph. © Mike Segar/Reuters/Corbis. As president and chief operating officer of MSG (Madison Square Garden) Sports, Steve Mills is one of the most important executives in the world of professional sports. He oversees the business operations of three New York teams that play at Madison Square Garden: the New York Knickerbockers of the …
1934— Choreographer, dancer Members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem call Arthur Mitchell the "Pied Piper of Dance." Mitchell, one of the first blacks to succeed in the field of classical ballet, founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969 in an effort to provide minority students with a chance to learn and perform classical ballet. He has been leading the troupe ever since and …
1929— Religious leader The Rev. Cecil (Chip) Murray is the religious leader every spiritually-conscious person would like to follow. A man of exceptional integrity, he heads a church whose congregants have included Dionne Warwick and Arsenio Hall, a church supported by an annual budget of tens of millions of dollars, which is nevertheless a church that takes loving care of the less fortunat…
1982— Violinist Violinist Tai Murray is a rising young star within the world of classical music, and only in her early 20s, she has already been rising for over a decade. Known for her beautiful, mature phrasing and graceful bow work, Murray has received critical acclaim from coast to coast. She has also drawn attention as one of the few African-American musicians involved in classical musi…
1905-2003 Biologist, educator, university president A celebrated marine biologist who specialized in studying the ability of fish to regrow their fins after injury or disease, Samuel Nabrit was the first black representative on the United States Atomic Energy Commission. In a long career, Nabrit found success on many fronts. He was the first alumnus of Morehouse College to receive a doctorate and …
1960(?)— Television executive Norman, Christina, photograph. Scott Gries/Getty Images. Christina Norman was named president of the cable channel VH1 in early 2004, a career achievement that made her one of the highest-ranking African Americans in the television industry. For two years prior to that, Norman had been instrumental in helping revive ratings at VH1, which had been struggl…
1952— Lawyer Charles Ogletree, Jr., is considered one of the most tenacious and successful trial lawyers in the United States. The Harvard University professor is a passionate advocate of a defendant's right to a fair trial within the American justice system—a Constitutional right one might find it difficult to receive if a member of a minority group. For several years Ogletre…
1946— Photographer New York-based photographer John Pinderhughes has combined careers in advertising and fine art photography. His commercial work includes advertising campaigns for major corporations while his fine art has developed quite separately. Pinderhughes is known for expansive landscapes and pictures that explore the relationship between people and their environment, traditions, a…
1962-2003 Actor, dancer Gene Anthony Ray shot to fame in the early 1980s when he took on his first—and only important—role of his acting career. As Leroy Johnson in both the movie and television versions of Fame, Ray used his street-honed disco moves, good looks, and tough-guy personality to win over a generation of teenagers. A talented dancer, Ray's problems with drugs and a…
1963(?)— Restaurateur Rodriguez, Jimmy, photograph. Thos Robinson/Getty Images Jimmy Rodriguez's story has all the elements of a fairy tale. In this story, a high school dropout helps his Puerto Rican father sell seafood from a pushcart alongside a highway. Slick cars whoosh past, ferrying baseball stars to nearby Yankee stadium, or across the river to Manhattan penthouses. Th…
1984(?)— Ceremonial guard England's Janna Scantlebury became the first black woman to serve in an elite mounted regiment attached to the royal household. As a member of the King's Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery, Scantlebury participates in the lavish, colorful pageants such as the Trooping of the Colours every June in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday. The Lond…
1941-2000 Musician Ras Shorty I, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. One of the few musicians of modern times who could claim to have almost single-handedly created a long-lasting musical genre, Ras Shorty I, formerly known as Lord Shorty, was one of the most creative figures to emerge from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. With hits such as "Indrani" and his 1974 album Endless …
1922— Minister, civil rights leader The Rev. Martin Luther King and his associates, who waged the battle for civil rights on a national scale, are remembered today as the movement's leaders. Less well known, even though a statue of him stands in front of the Birmingham, Alabama, Civil Rights Institute, is the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. But it was the Rev. Shuttlesworth who battled Birm…
1912-2003 Political activist Walter Sisulu was one of South Africa's most important leaders in its decades-long struggle to end apartheid. A key figure in the African National Congress (ANC) of the 1940s, it was he who brought future South African president Nelson Mandela into the organization. Both Sisulu and Mandela were later imprisoned for 25 years by the South African government for th…
1959— Corporate executive Natalie Taylor grew up surrounded by adults who believed that hard work would lead to success and who demonstrated that belief in the way they lived their lives. Taught to aim high and expect a lot of herself, she has set and achieved one goal after another throughout her career. Beginning with paying for her college education by working several part-time jobs as a…
1976— Actor Thomason, Marsha, photograph. Vince Bucci/Getty Images. Actress Marsha Thomason began her career in British television, and moved quickly into starring roles opposite such Hollywood heavyweights as Eddie Murphy and James Caan. In 2003 she began appearing in the NBC series Las Vegas, which starred her opposite Caan's Las Vegas casino-surveillance chief in what quick…
1964— Religious leader The Rev. Conrad Tillard is both a charismatic religious leader and a man on a quest. As one of the central figures in the New York City branch of the Nation of Islam, in the 1990s he took the name Conrad Muhammad. He later broke with the leaders of the Nation of Islam and returned to his birth name and his Christian roots. Along the way, he plunged into the controvers…
1938— Poet, editor, activist Askia Muhammad Abu Bakr el Touré is one of the founding members of the black arts movement of the 1960s and 1970s. As a poet, editor, and activist, Touré helped define a new generation of black consciousness that sought to affirm through the arts the community's African heritage as a means to create an uplifting and triumphal identity for the mo…
1945— Football player, union executive As a guard for pro football's Oakland Raiders, Gene Upshaw established a reputation as one of the most dominating players on the field. As the longtime executive director of the NFL Players' Association, he is widely regarded as one of the most powerful players on the sidelines. Upshaw helped the Raiders win two Super Bowls during his pla…
1953— Counselor, lawyer, writer, lecturer Iyanla (pronounced EE-yan-lah) Vanzant has overcome overwhelming personal difficulties to become a lawyer, minister, talk show host, best-selling author, and national advocate for literacy. Through her self-named "dark valley experiences," those that like real valleys are necessarily traversed on the path from one mountain or peak to t…
1942(?)— Organization leader A recognized expert in family and social science, Gladys Gary Vaughn has forged a 30-year career in helping people improve the quality of their lives. "I've always believed in social justice. It is a deeply held belief of mine," she told Contemporary Black Biography (CBB). To that end, she has spoken before Congress and on the talk show Gera…
1948— College basketball player; law professor As the first African-American player in college basket-ball's Southeastern Conference (SEC), Perry Wallace pioneered the way for black players to excel in this sport. Yet his years on the Vanderbilt University varsity team were marked by racist incidents and by a sense of isolation on campus. Despite daunting obstacles, however, Wallace …
1957— Journalist Whitaker, Mark, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Near the end of 1998, Newsweek announced it had named veteran staff journalist Mark Theis Whitaker to the post of editor. Whitaker, who had worked for the magazine in various capacities, became the first African American editor of a major news weekly in the United States. As Carl Swanson remarked about Whitaker in the…
1951— Corporate executive Wilkins, Ray, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Ray Wilkins's career blossomed at SBC Communications, Inc., as the company expanded over the years. Serving as group president for marketing and sales for the telecommunications giant in 2004, this Texas native began his career with the company when it was still Southwestern Bell, the local telephone com…
1973— Music producer Pharrell Williams scored hit after hit beginning in 2002 thanks to his producing talents for an array of top musical acts. As one half of the Neptunes, Williams writes and puts a unique stamp on singles for Usher, Nelly, Justin Timberlake, and many others. He and his co-Neptune, high-school pal Chad Hugo, also put out music of their own under the "N.E.R.D."…