Actress
She received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her title role in the romantic comedy-drama film Claudine (1974)
Diahann Carroll
American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer.
His efforts on N.W.A's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016. Acted in several movies including; “Boyz In The Hood”, “Friday”, “Barbershop”, “Are We There Yet”, and many more
Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Sr.)
Won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship
Octavia E. Butler
He lost his vision as a young child due to glaucoma and consequently wore dark glasses. He pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel into his music.
Ray Charles
Advanced to 4-Star General by President Clinton. He was isolated by his white classmates on account of his race. He was commander of 99th Fighter Squadron and 32nd Fighter Group.
Benjamin Davis
Time Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World in 2016 & 2024.She portrayed mathematician Katherine Johnson in “Hidden Figures” Starred in 2023 “The Color Purple”. Born 1970 in Washington, DC
Taraji P. Henson
Known for his roles in television and film and has received numerous accolades including 2 Golden Globe Awards and 2 Grammy Awards, as well as a Tony Award. He played the role of Rocket in the 1988 movie Colors.
Don Cheadle
American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor.
He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwriter with his partner David Porter, as well as a session musician and record producer. In 1992, he was crowned honorary king of the Ada region of Ghana in recognition of his humanitarian work there. He was born in Covington, TN
Issac Hayes
Rose to prominence with her debut album “Inseparable” 1975. She received several 9 Grammy Awards.
Natalie Cole
American Professional Boxer, businessman, author. He competed between 1967 & 1997. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. He had a troubled childhood and boxing became his outlet. He is the namesake of the a grill.
George Foreman
First African-American to be nominated for Academy Award for best actress for “Carmen Jones”. She performed as a vocalist in venues such as Cotton Club and Apollo Theater.
After her 3-year absence, she returned to star in the film “Island in the Sun”
Dorothy Dandridge
He began acting in 1939 and struggled with roadblocks of being put in the stereotypical roles. He stared in many movies such as “Do The Right Thing” and “Grumpy Old Men” He began directing in 1970, with “Cotton Comes to Harlem”.
Ossie Davis R.C. Davis
He became a prolific writer at an early age. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. He studied at Columbia University in New York City. Although he dropped out, he gained notice from New York publishers, first in The Crisis magazine and then from book publishers, subsequently becoming known in the Harlem creative community. His first poetry collection, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. Hughes eventually graduated from Lincoln University.
Langston Hughes
American trumpeter, bandleader, composer. He adopted a variety of musical directions in a roughly five-decade career that kept him in the front of many major stylistic developments of jazz. Began playing the trumpet at a early age of 12. Played a small part in the movie “Scrooged” as a street musician. In his final days he began painting.
Miles Davis
First known black person to receive an international pilot’s license. Born to sharecroppers in Atlanta, TX. She lived with her brothers in Chicago where she worked as a manicurist at the White Sox Barber Shop. She heard many stories about flying during wartime. She obtained sponsorship in Chicago to go to France for flight school.
Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman
American actress who has been active in film and television since the 1980s. She has won an Emmy Award and two Golden Globes, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Oscar Nomination for best supporting actress for Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
Angela Basset
In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award and a Tony Award. He was honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008, an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2011, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018. In a 2022 readers' poll by Empire, he was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time
Morgan Freeman
American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist.
Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his musical achievements broke American racial barriers and made him a dominant figure worldwide. Through his songs, concerts, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music, popularizing street dance moves such as the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. He is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time
Michael Jackson
Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young. She made significant contributions to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Produced the hit “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” Born in Philadelphia, PA 1915
Billy Holiday
First African American child to attend formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during New Orleans desegregation crisis November 1960
Ruby "Nell" Bridges
She is known professionally as an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, she is one of few people to receive an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Tony Award .
Whoopi Goldberg
After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ”Boyz n the Hood” (1991), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor playing a football star in ”Jerry Maguire” (1996). His other notable films include ”A Few Good Men”, “Men of Honor”, and “Radio”
Cuba Gooding Jr.
First Lady of Jazz was American songwriter and composer. Had nicknames such as “First Lady of Song”, “Queen of Jazz”, “Lady Ella”.
Ella Fitzgerald
American Jazz Vibraphonist, Percussionist, and Bandleader.
He was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996. Born in Louisville, KY
Lionel Hampton
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.
He was the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century. After escaping slavery in 1838 he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York and gained fame for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. He wrote three autobiographies, describing his experiences as an enslaved person
Frederick Douglas