Black Directors
Director of the 1986 film "She's Gotta Have it"
Spike Lee
Mother of Black Hollywood
Jenifer Lewis
First African American to create a feature film
Oscar Micheaux
Star of ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder"
Viola Davis
Founders of the Black Panther Party
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
Ava DuVernay
Starred in "A Different World" and provide voice acting for many shows that included "Rugrats", "Codename: Kids Next Door", "As Told by Ginger", and "Danny Phantom"
Cree Summer
Born in Chicago, she was the first black playwright to have a broadway play with "A Raisin in The Sun"
Lorraine Hansberry
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Will Smith
She was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List in the 1970's
Angela Davis
Director of 2016 movie that won an Academy Award for Best Picture
Barry Jenkins
Host of the Highest rated television Talkshow in history which aired from 1986-2011
Oprah Winfrey
First Black Woman elected to Congress in 1968 and run for President in 1972
Shirley Chisholm
The first African American Bachelorette
Viewed as too radical and a racist towards white people
Malcolm X
Columbia Alum and Director of "The Hate U Give"
George Tillman Jr.
Portrayed Tina Turner in 1993 film "What's Love Got to Do with it"
Angela Bassett
First woman ever inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987)
Aretha Franklin
Won Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his FX Original Show
Donald Glover
Delivered "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech the night before his death
Martin Luther King Jr
First African American and Youngest person to be nominated by the Academy for Best Director
John Singleton-Boys in the Hood
The first Black Woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress
Halle Berry-Monster's Ball(2002)
First Black recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Annie Allen
Gwendolyn Brooks
The first Black person to win an Emmy
Harry Belafonte(1960)
Acclaimed Poet, Singer, Memoirist and Civil Rights Icon. Also credited with being apart of numerous plays, movies, and television shows.
Maya Angelou