Collin Balentine and Jordan Joiner: Helping the Environment

James, Charles A. (1922- )

Ambassador Charles A. James was born in 1922 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he attended public schools. After high school, James enrolled at Westchester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania (now Westchester University) where he studied for one year before

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Source: Black Past

Sep

16

1976

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain (born Wilton Norman Chamberlain) was an American basketball star who played for several NBA teams. Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied at Overbrook High School where he played on his school’s team for three years, scoring more than

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Source: Black History Resources

Aug

21

1936

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett is a well known African American actress and director. She was born in New York in August 1958 to Betty Jane and Daniel Benjamin Bassett. Her ancestors adopted the name of Bassett after William Henry Bassett, who was a slave who adopted the name of his former master. Shortly after

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Source: Black History Resources

Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley is a well known talk show host and media personality. He was born on September 13, 1964 in Gulfport, Mississippi to a single teenaged mother named Joyce Marie Roberts. Joyce married a US Air Force Officer named Emory Garnell Smiley, and Tavis was named after his stepfather. He did not

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Source: Black History Resources

Sep

13

1964

Barr, Roberta Byrd (1919-1993)

Roberta Byrd Barr was an African American educator, civil rights leader, actress, librarian, and television personality. She was a talented, multifaceted personality with a calm presence, thoughtful demeanor, and a darkly melodious voice which served her well in the many roles she played in the

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Source: Black Past

Dinkins, David N. (1927- )

In 1989, David N. Dinkins defeated his challenger, former federal prosecutor Rudolph (Rudy) Giuliani, to become the first African American mayor of New York

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Source: Black Past

Bert Williams--a Leading Comedian

At the turn of the century Bert Williams was one of Americas top comedians. Comedian Eddie Cantor called him a comic genius, W.C. Fields, a comic genius himself, once described Williams as the funniest man I ever

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

4

1922

Valerie Thomas

As a child, Valerie Thomas became fascinated with the mysteries of technology, tinkering with electronics with her father and reading books on electronics written for adolescent boys. The likelihood of her enjoying a career in science seemed bleak, as her all-girls high school did not push her to

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Source: Black History Resources

Xavier University [New Orleans] (1915- )

Xavier University is a private, four-year coeducational historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana; the campus is located one mile from downtown New Orleans. Xavier University is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) affiliated with the Roman Catholic

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Source: Black Past

Townsend, Willard S. (1895-1957)

African American labor leader Willard S. Townsend was born on December 4, 1895, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Willard and Cora Elizabeth Townsend. In 1938 he organized railway workers of several Chicago, Illinois stations to form the International Brotherhood of Redcaps and remained the union’s president

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Source: Black Past

Feb

3

1957

South africa

The ANC took 62.2% of the vote in May 2014 elections, handing Zuma a second term as president. The opposition Democratic Alliance placed second, 22.2%. Despite its landslide victory, the ANC has seen its popularity diminish in recent years due to allegations of corruption, growing income

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Debbie Allen

Deborrah Kaye Allen, better known as Debbie Allen, is an American choreographer and dancer from Houston, Texas. She was born on January 16, 1950 to Arthur Allen and Vivian Ayers. Her mother was a strong role model in her life, who took care of Debbie and her siblings when her parents got

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Source: Black History Resources

Jan

16

1950

(2013) Ben Carson's Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast

On February 7, 2013 prominent neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson became a nationally recognized political figure when he gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. that was critical of President Obamas policies and particularly Obamacare when the President and First Lady Michelle

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Source: Black Past

Feb

7

2013

(1951) Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Addresses the NAACP National Convention

In 1951 Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, then President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, was, was already one of the most prominent African American educators in the United States. He influenced hundreds of young African Americans who came under his tutelage including undergraduate students at

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Source: Black Past

Master P

Percy Miller also known as Master P, was born on April 29, 1970 in New Orleans. He is an American actor, rapper, producer and an entrepreneur. Miller’s parents were divorced when he was very young, due to which he went back and forth from his grandmother’s house in New Orleans to his mother’s house

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Source: Black History Resources

Apr

29

1970

Flowers, Vonetta (1973- )

The first person of African descent, male or female, to wina gold medal at the Winter Olympics was Vonetta Flowers when she won gold inthe womens bobsled event in 2002 at SaltLake

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Source: Black Past

Gittens, Charles LeRoy (1928–2011)

Charles L. Gittens was an American Secret Service agent. He joined the Secret Service in 1956, becoming the agencys first African American agent. An Army veteran, Gittens began his career at the agencys office in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, he was soon posted to its New York field

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Source: Black Past

Aug

10

2011

Moore, Gwendolynne S. "Gwen" (1951- )

Gwendolynne Moore is the first African American member of Congress from Wisconsin where she represents the state’s Fourth Congressional District. Moore, a community leader and lifelong civil rights and human rights advocate, is the first woman to represent the Fourth Congressional District. She is

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Source: Black Past

Jan

4

2005

David Crosthwait Jr.

Born: 5/27/1827 Nashville, TennesseeDied: 2/25/1976 West Lafayette, IndianaDavid Crosthwait Jr. was an African-American mechanical and electrical engineer, inventor, and writer. He was born in the city of Nashville, Tennessee. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Once he completed high school he

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Gabourey Sidibe

Gabourey Sidibe, nicknamed Gabby, is an Academy Award nominated actress who made her acting debut in 2009. She was born on May 6, 1983 in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, is a special education teacher turned R&B singer who performed on the television show “America’s Got

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Source: Black History Resources

May

6

1983

Earl Campbell

Earl Christian Campbell is a professional American football player who played for the Houston Oilers and the New Orleans Saints. He was born on March 29, 1955 in Tyler, Texas. He was the sixth of eleven children in his family. Their father died when he was very young. He began playing football at

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Source: Black History Resources

Jul

27

1991

Black History Month Special Feature, 2012 - Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project

Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project

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Source: Black Past

Chuck Berry

Charles Anderson Edward Berry, better known as Chuck Berry, is popularly considered the father of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He was born on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri to Martha and Henry Berry, who were grandchildren of slaves. His ancestors had migrated from the rural south to Missouri to look

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

18

1926

Coachman, Alice Marie (1923-2014)

Alice Coachman became the first African American woman from any country to win an Olympic Gold Medal when she competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, UK. Born November 9, 1923, in Albany, Georgia, to Evelyn and Fred Coachman, Alice was the fifth of ten children. As an athletic child of the

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Source: Black Past

Maynard, Robert C. (1937-1993)

Robert C. Maynard, the first African American editor and owner of a major daily newspaper in the United States, was known as a trailblazing journalist who led efforts to desegregate newsrooms and educate minority students to pursue careers in

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Source: Black Past

Aug

19

1993

Verrett, Shirley (1931-2010)

Shirley Verrett was a distinguished mezzo-soprano and soprano opera singer. Born in New Orleans on May 31, 1931, one of five children to strict Seventh Day Adventists, her father was a successful building contractor. She came from a musical family, her mother often sang in the house and her father

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Source: Black Past

(1984) Rev. Jesse Jackson, “The Rainbow Coalition”

In 1984 Rev. Jesse Jackson campaigned for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency. Although he entered the Democratic convention at San Francisco with little hope of winning, his appeals on behalf of the dispossessed of America whom he characterized as the Rainbow Coalition, ensured that his

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Source: Black Past

Houston, Charles Hamilton (1895-1950)

Charles Hamilton Houston, a renowned civil rights attorney, was widely recognized as the architect of the civil rights strategy that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education. He was also a mentor to Thurgood Marshall who successfully litigated the pivotal Brown

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Source: Black Past

Apr

22

1950

Wyman, Virginia

Virginia Wyman, a native of Seattle, Washington, is the founder, owner, and operator of The Ruins, a private dining club with catering services, located in Seattle. She is a graduate of the Helen Bush-Parkside School (now known as the Bush School) and received a Bachelor’s Degree in History from

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Source: Black Past

Diana Ross

Diana Ross is an American singer and actress, who is one of the most successful recording artists with record sales exceeding 100 million copies. She was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. She began singing in high school and formed a band with her friends Mary Wilson, Florence

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Source: Black History Resources

Mar

26

1944

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