100 Notable alumni of
Howard University
Updated:
Howard University is 147th in the world, 66th in North America, and 63rd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Howard University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Kamala Harris
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1986 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- lawyerjuristprosecutorpolitician
- Biography
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Kamala Devi Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and incumbent vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 and a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021.
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Chadwick Boseman
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- voice actoractordirectortelevision actorplaywright
- Biography
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Chadwick Aaron Boseman was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received several accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, along with an Academy Award nomination.
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Sean Combs
- Occupations
- television producermusic executiveactorentrepreneur
- Biography
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Sean Love Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive and actor. Born in Harlem, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. Combs has produced and cultivated artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
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Nick Cannon
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 2016-2020
- Occupations
- comedianvoice actorDJ producerentrepreneurbusinessperson
- Biography
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Nicholas Scott Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and television host. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'n Out, America's Got Talent, Lip Sync Battle Shorties, and The Masked Singer. He acted in the films Drumline, Love Don't Cost a Thing, and Roll Bounce.
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Taraji P. Henson
- Occupations
- television actorfilm actoractorsinger
- Biography
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Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Marlon Wayans
- Occupations
- voice actortelevision produceractorfilm directortelevision actor
- Biography
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Marlon Lamont Wayans is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999), and in the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).
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Thurgood Marshall
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 1933
- Occupations
- lawyerjuristpoliticianjudge
- Biography
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Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice. Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was a prominent figure in the movement to end racial segregation in American public schools. He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967. A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became increasingly conservative.
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Toni Morrison
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- children's writerwriteruniversity teacherlibrettistaudiobook narrator
- Biography
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Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
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Anthony Anderson
- Occupations
- film actorscreenwritertelevision actorcomedianactor
- Biography
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Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in comedy series such as Andre "Dre" Johnson on Black-ish (2013–2022), drama series such as Marlin Boulet on K-Ville (2007), and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama Law & Order (2008–2010, 2022–). He had major roles in feature films such as Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Kangaroo Jack (2003), Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), The Departed (2006), Transformers (2007), and Scream 4 (2011).
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Phylicia Rashad
- Occupations
- voice actortelevision produceractorstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University and best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000). She was dubbed "The Mother of the Black Community" at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards.
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Isaiah Washington
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and film producer. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2007.
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Rachel Dolezal
- Enrolled in Howard University
- 2000-2002 graduated with Master of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- human rights activistpainteractivistteacher
- Biography
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Nkechi Amare Diallo is an American former college instructor and activist known for presenting herself as a black woman despite being born to white parents. She is also a former National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter president.
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Thomas Sowell
- Occupations
- economisteducatorcolumnistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social philosopher, and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he became a well-known voice in the American conservative movement as a prominent black conservative. He was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.
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La La Anthony
- Occupations
- television actordisc jockeyfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez; is an American television personality and actress. In the early 2000s, she worked as an MTV VJ on Total Request Live. She was the host of the VH1 reality television reunion shows Flavor of Love, I Love New York, For the Love of Ray J, and Real Chance of Love, and was a dean on Charm School with Ricki Lake.
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Debbie Allen
- Occupations
- screenwriterwritersingerfilm produceractor
- Biography
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Deborah Kaye Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award (winning five), two Tony Awards, and has also won a Golden Globe Award and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.
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Roxie Roker
- Occupations
- journalisttelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Roxie Albertha Roker was an American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons. Roker is the mother of rock musician Lenny Kravitz and paternal grandmother of actress Zoë Kravitz.
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Elijah Cummings
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1973 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Elijah Eugene Cummings was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for Maryland's 7th congressional district from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecessor Kweisi Mfume. The district he represented included over half of the city of Baltimore, including most of the majority-black precincts of Baltimore County, and most of Howard County, Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, Cummings previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1983 to 1996.
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Stokely Carmichael
- Occupations
- human rights activistactivistpoliticianrevolutionary
- Biography
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Kwame Ture was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the United States from the age of 11 and became an activist while attending the Bronx High School of Science. He was a key leader in the development of the Black Power movement, first while leading the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), then as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party (BPP), and last as a leader of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).
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Laz Alonso
- Occupations
- television actorfilm actoractorinvestment banker
- Biography
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Lazaro Alonso is an American actor. He is known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar and Fenix Calderon in the film Fast & Furious. Alonso has had roles in other films such as Jarhead, This Christmas, Miracle at St. Anna and Detroit. As of 2019, Alonso is part of the main cast of the series The Boys (based on the comic book series of the same name) playing the character known as Marvin T. "MM (Mother's Milk)" Milk.
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Roberta Flack
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersingermusicianrecording artistteacher
- Biography
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Roberta Cleopatra Flack is a retired American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", the latter two duets with Donny Hathaway. Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.
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Zora Neale Hurston
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with associate degree
- Occupations
- anthropologistwritercivil rights advocatehistorianfolklorist
- Biography
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Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937. She also wrote over 50 short stories, plays, and essays.
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Omarosa Manigault Newman
- Occupations
- voice actorpoliticianactorbusinessperson
- Biography
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Omarosa Onee Newman, known mononymously as Omarosa, is an American reality television show participant, writer, and former political aide. She has worked in the White House offices of former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. She became widely known as a contestant on the first season of NBC's reality television series The Apprentice.
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Tracie Thoms
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Tracie Thoms is an American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in Rent, Cold Case, The Devil Wears Prada, Death Proof, and the Fox television series Wonderfalls.
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Simone Missick
- Occupations
- film actoractor
- Biography
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Simone Missick is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Detective Misty Knight in Luke Cage, a role she also plays in The Defenders and Iron Fist. From 2019 to 2023, she starred as Lola Carmichael in All Rise.
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Lynn Whitfield
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Lynn Whitfield is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical film The Josephine Baker Story (1991).
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Susan Kelechi Watson
- Occupations
- television actorscreenwriterfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Susan Kelechi Watson is an American actress. She is known for her work on the television show Louie and for her role as Beth Pearson in This Is Us. She was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the latter.
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Ossie Davis
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 1939
- Occupations
- writertelevision actoractorstage actorfilm director
- Biography
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Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received numerous accolades including a Grammy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award as well as nominations for five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and Tony Award. Davis was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and received the National Medal of Arts in 1995, Kennedy Center Honors in 2004
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David Dinkins
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- politicianmayorjurist
- Biography
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David Norman Dinkins was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993.
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Letitia James
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- journalistpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Letitia Ann James is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2019 as the Attorney General of New York (NYAG), having won the 2018 election to succeed Barbara Underwood. A member of the Democratic Party, James is the first African American and first woman to be elected New York Attorney General.
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Carla Hall
- Occupations
- television presenterreality television participantchef
- Biography
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Carla Hall is an American chef, television personality and former model.
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Jessye Norman
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with bachelor's degree in music
- Occupations
- opera singer
- Biography
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Jessye Mae Norman was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert and recital stages, Norman was associated with roles including Beethoven's Leonore, Wagner's Sieglinde and Kundry, Berlioz's Cassandre and Didon, and Bartók's Judith. The New York Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound", and wrote that "it has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas. It contains sunlit rooms, narrow passageways, cavernous halls."
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Gabrielle Dennis
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Gabrielle Dennis is an American actress and comedian, best known for starring in the sketch comedy HBO show A Black Lady Sketch Show.
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Lance Gross
- Occupations
- television actormodelactorfilm producer
- Biography
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Lance Darnell Gross is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Calvin Payne on the TBS sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne and OWN sitcom Tyler Perry's The Paynes, as well as appearing in other Tyler Perry productions such as the Meet the Browns (2008) film and Tyler Perry's Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013). He also co-starred in 2010's Our Family Wedding alongside Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia, America Ferrera, and Regina King. He also starred as Secret Service Agent Marcus Finley in NBC's political drama Crisis.
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Andrew Young
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1951 studied pre-medical
- Occupations
- peace activistwriterhuman rights activistfilm producerdiplomat
- Biography
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Andrew Jackson Young Jr. is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. Young later became active in politics, serving as a U.S. Congressman from Georgia, United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration, and 55th Mayor of Atlanta. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Georgia since Reconstruction, as well as one of the first two African Americans elected to Congress from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction, alongside Barbara Jordan of Texas. Since leaving office, Young has founded or served in many organizations working on issues of public policy and political lobbying.
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Daryl Davis
- Occupations
- film actorpianist
- Biography
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Daryl Davis is an American R&B and blues musician and activist. His efforts to fight racism by engaging members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) have convinced dozens of Klansmen to leave and denounce the KKK. Known for his energetic style of boogie-woogie piano, Davis has played with such musicians as Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, B. B. King, and Bruce Hornsby.
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Wendy Raquel Robinson
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorchoreographeractorvoice actor
- Biography
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Wendy Raquel Robinson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and as sports agent Tasha Mack on The CW/BET/Paramount+ comedy-drama The Game (2006–2015).
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Nnamdi Azikiwe
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, PC, usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman, revolutionary and political leader who served as the 3rd governor-general of Nigeria between 1960 and 1963 and the 1st president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic which existed from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the nation's independence, he came to be known as the "father of Nigerian nationalism".
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Sekhar Kammula
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Sekhar Kammula is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. He has garnered two Filmfare Awards South, and six state Nandi Awards for his directional works. Sekhar Kammula was among the director's delegation to represent South Indian Cinema at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
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Amiri Baraka
- Occupations
- music criticessayistpoetscreenwriterplaywright
- Biography
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Amiri Baraka, previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at several universities, including the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University. He received the PEN/Beyond Margins Award in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone. Baraka's plays, poetry, and essays have been described by scholars as constituting defining texts for African-American culture.
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Kenny Lattimore
- Occupations
- singermusicianrecording artist
- Biography
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Kenny Lattimore is an American R&B singer.
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Vernon Jordan
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- businesspersonlawyer
- Biography
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Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.
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George Washington Williams
- Occupations
- writertheologiandiplomathistorianChristian minister
- Biography
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George Washington Williams was a soldier in the American Civil War and in Mexico before becoming a Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, journalist, and writer on African-American history. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives.
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Gus Johnson
- Occupations
- sports commentator
- Biography
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Augustus Cornelius Johnson Jr. is an American sportscaster. He is the lead play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports calling college football and college basketball. Prior to working with Fox, he was with CBS Sports. He also calls select NBA Playoff games for NBA on TNT.
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Fredricka Whitfield
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- news presenterjournalist
- Biography
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Fredricka Whitfield is an American journalist and news anchor. She anchors the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, and she is also a fill-in and substitute anchor for CNN's At This Hour With Kate Bolduan.
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Carl Anthony Payne II
- Occupations
- actorfilm directortelevision actor
- Biography
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Carl Anthony Payne II is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Cole Brown on the Fox sitcom Martin and Walter "Cockroach" Bradley on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, Carl on Rock Me Baby (TV series), Curtis on the sitcom George Lopez (2002–2003), and as Myles Wilson on Tyler Perry's Young Dylan.
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Benny Golson
- Occupations
- saxophonistrecording artistcomposerjazz musician
- Biography
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Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson is known for co-founding and co-leading The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959. From the late 1960s through the 1970s Golson was in demand as an arranger for film and television and thus was less active as a performer, but he and Farmer re-formed the Jazztet in 1982.
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Mike Espy
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Alphonso Michael Espy is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of agriculture from 1993 to 1994. He was both the first African American and the first person from the Deep South to hold the position. A member of the Democratic Party, Espy previously served as the U.S. representative for Mississippi's 2nd congressional district from 1987 to 1993.
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Douglas Wilder
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 1959
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Lawrence Douglas Wilder is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era, and the first African American ever elected as governor. He is currently a professor at the namesake Wilder School at Virginia Commonwealth University.
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Edward Brooke
- Enrolled in Howard University
- 1936-1941 studied sociology
- Occupations
- politicianMassachusetts Attorney Generallawyer
- Biography
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Edward William Brooke III was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 until 1967. Edward Brooke was the first African-American since Reconstruction in 1874 to have been elected to the United States Senate and he was the first African-American United States senator since 1881 to have held a United States Senate seat. Edward Brooke was also the first African-American United States senator ever to have been re-elected to the United States Senate.
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Alcee Hastings
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 1958-1960
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Alcee Lamar Hastings was an American politician and former judge from the state of Florida. He was notable for having been impeached and removed from office as a judge for bribery and perjury.
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Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Occupations
- novelistpoetplaywrightwriter
- Biography
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Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War, Dunbar began writing stories and verse when he was a child. He published his first poems at the age of 16 in a Dayton newspaper, and served as president of his high school's literary society.
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Kasim Reed
- Occupations
- politicianinternational forum participantlawyer
- Biography
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Mohammed Kasim Reed is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 59th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia's state capital and largest city, from 2010 to 2018. A Democrat, Reed was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002 and represented the 35th District in the Georgia State Senate from 2003 to 2009. He served as campaign manager for Shirley Franklin's successful Atlanta mayoral campaign in 2001. After Franklin was term limited from the mayor's office, Reed successfully ran for the position in 2009. Inaugurated on January 4, 2010, Reed was elected to a second term in 2013.
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Roland Burris
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1963 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianexecutivebank examiner
- Biography
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Roland Wallace Burris is an American retired Democratic politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. In January 2009, he was appointed a United States Senator, succeeding Barack Obama, who resigned to become president of the United States. Burris held this position until November 2010, retiring from front-line politics shortly after.
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Michelle Miller
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Michelle Miller is a national correspondent for CBS News and currently serves as a co-host on CBS Saturday Morning. She has also served as a substitute anchor on CBS Mornings and 48 Hours on ID.
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Adrian Fenty
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Adrian Malik Fenty is an American politician who served as the mayor of the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2011.
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Diane Nash
- Occupations
- human rights activist
- Biography
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Diane Judith Nash is an American civil rights activist, and a leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Amin Joseph
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Amin Joseph is an American actor, director, and producer known for his role as Jerome Saint on John Singleton's crime drama Snowfall.
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Kevin Grevioux
- Occupations
- stunt performervoice actorwriterscience fiction writeractor
- Biography
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Kevin Grevioux is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. He is best known for his role as Raze in the Underworld film series, which he co-created, as well as his voicework in the cartoon Young Justice as the villain Black Beetle.
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Billy Eckstine
- Occupations
- trumpeterrecording artistjazz guitaristbandleadersinger
- Biography
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William Clarence Eckstine was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award "for performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." His recording of "I Apologize" (MGM, 1951) was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. The New York Times described him as an "influential band leader" whose "suave bass-baritone" and "full-throated, sugary approach to popular songs inspired singers like Earl Coleman, Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock, and Lou Rawls."
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Isabel Wilkerson
- Occupations
- writerjournalist
- Biography
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Isabel Wilkerson is an American journalist and the author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (2010) and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020). She is the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
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Trina McGee-Davis
- Occupations
- television actormodelfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Trina Colette McGee is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Angela Moore on the ABC-TV sitcom Boy Meets World.
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Emmet G. Sullivan
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 1964-1968
- Studied in 1968-1971
- Occupations
- journalistjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Emmet Gael Sullivan is an American attorney and jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
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Pep Hamilton
- Occupations
- coach
- Biography
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Alfonza "Pep" Hamilton is an American football coach. He was previously the head coach and general manager of the DC Defenders of the XFL, and the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, and was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).
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Pauli Murray
- Occupations
- university teacherpriestpolitical activistwriterlawyer
- Biography
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Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray was an American civil rights activist, advocate, legal scholar and theorist, author and – later in life – an Episcopal priest. Murray's work influenced the civil rights movement and expanded legal protection for gender equality.
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Diezani Alison-Madueke
- Occupations
- politicianinternational forum participantarchitect
- Biography
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Diezani K. Alison-Madueke is a Nigerian politician and the first female President of OPEC.
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Patricia Bath
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1968 graduated with Doctor of Medicine
- Occupations
- inventorresearcherphysicianophthalmologist
- Biography
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Patricia Era Bath was an American ophthalmologist and humanitarian. She became the first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology, and the first woman elected to the honorary staff of the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first African-American to serve as a resident in ophthalmology at New York University. She was also the first African-American woman to serve on staff as a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. A holder of five patents, she founded the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington, D.C.
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William Lacy Clay
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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William Lacy Clay Jr. is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative from Missouri's 1st congressional district from 2001 to 2021. His congressional career ended after he lost in a Democratic primary to Cori Bush in 2020, after successfully defeating her in the 2018 primary.
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Mary Ann Shadd
- Occupations
- lawyercivil rights advocatesuffragistnewspaper proprietorjournalist
- Biography
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Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary was an American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer. She was the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher in Canada. She was also the second black woman to attend law school in the United States. Mary Shadd established the newspaper Provincial Freeman in 1853, which was published weekly in southern Ontario. it advocated equality, integration, and self-education for black people in Canada and the United States.
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Ananda Lewis
- Occupations
- modelradio personalityactorfilm actorjournalist
- Biography
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Ananda Lewis is an American television host, carpenter, former model, and social activist. She was an MTV veejay from the late 1990s until 2001, when she left the network to host her own broadcast syndicated television talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. She was a correspondent for The Insider from 2004 to 2005. She then became a carpenter. She hosted the 2019 revival of While You Were Out on TLC.
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Harold Ford, Sr
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1982 graduated with Master of Business Administration
- Occupations
- funeral directorpolitician
- Biography
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Harold Eugene Ford Sr. is an American politician and Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. He was the first African-American to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Congress. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis.
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Harris Wofford
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. was an American attorney, civil rights activist, and Democratic Party politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1991 to 1995. A noted advocate of national service and volunteering, Wofford was also the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College from 1970 to 1978, served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 1986 and also as Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry in the cabinet of Governor Robert P. Casey from 1987 to 1991, and was a surrogate for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center before Obama's speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union".
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Antoine Bethea
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Antoine Akeem Bethea is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Howard Bison and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Bethea also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. He was selected for the Pro Bowl three times and won Super Bowl XLI as a member of the Colts, beating the Chicago Bears.
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Vanessa Lynne Bryant
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Vanessa Lynne Bryant is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
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John Alexander Thain
- Occupations
- investment bankerentrepreneur
- Biography
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John Alexander Thain is an American financial executive and investment banker. He served as president and co-COO of Goldman Sachs, and then CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. Thain then became the last chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co. before its merger with Bank of America. He was designated to become president of global banking, securities, and wealth management at the newly combined company, but resigned on January 22, 2009. Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, reportedly forced Thain to step down after several controversies, such as the losses at Merrill Lynch which proved to be far larger than previously estimated, and the award of huge executive bonuses. Thain then served as chairman and CEO of the CIT Group. He is currently a board member of Uber, appointed by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on September 29, 2017.
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Francisco Flores
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). He previously served as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 1999, having been president of the Assembly from 1997 to 1999.
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Cheddi Jagan
- Occupations
- politiciandentist
- Biography
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Cheddi Berret Jagan was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. In 1953, he became the first Hindu and person of Indian descent to be a head of government outside of the Indian subcontinent.
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Lori Stokes
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Lori Stokes is an American former journalist and news anchor. She was the evening news anchor for the 5, 6, and 10 O’Clock news at Fox 5 NY WNYW in New York City from 2021 to 2022. She formerly co-hosted Good Day New York on Fox 5 NY WNYW, with Rosanna Scotto. From April 2000 to August 2017, she co-anchored on WABC-TV's Eyewitness News This Morning, with Ken Rosato. Stokes joined the station as part of an effort to increase ratings on WABC's morning newscast and helped bring the broadcast to #1. Stokes retired from broadcasting on September 30, 2022.
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Gregory Meeks
- Enrolled in Howard University
- In 1978 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- politicianinternational forum participantlawyer
- Biography
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Gregory Weldon Meeks is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2021 to 2023. He still sits on the committee as ranking member.
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Makur Maker
- Enrolled in Howard University
- Studied in 2021
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Makur Maker is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. A consensus five-star recruit, he committed to play college basketball for Howard University, becoming the highest-ranked player in the modern recruiting era to commit to a historically black college or university (HBCU).
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Keith Mitchell
- Occupations
- mathematicianpoliticianuniversity teachercricketer
- Biography
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Keith Claudius Mitchell is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Grenadian history, holding the office for more than 22 years. He is currently leader of the New National Party (NNP) and has been the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Grenada from 2008 to 2013, and again since 2022.
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Sonia Sanchez
- Occupations
- screenwriterpoetschool teacheranthologistplaywright
- Biography
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Sonia Sanchez is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays, and children's books. In the 1960s, Sanchez released poems in periodicals targeted towards African-American audiences, and published her debut collection, Homecoming, in 1969. In 1993, she received Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and in 2001 was awarded the Robert Frost Medal for her contributions to the canon of American poetry. She has been influential to other African-American poets, including Krista Franklin.
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Bradford Young
- Occupations
- cinematographer
- Biography
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Bradford Marcel Young, A.S.C is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the films Selma, A Most Violent Year (both 2014), Arrival (2016)—which earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography—and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as the Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019).
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Shirley Horn
- Occupations
- pianistrecording artistsingerjazz musician
- Biography
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Shirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, something described by arranger Johnny Mandel as "like having two heads", and for her rich, lush voice, a smoky contralto, which was described by noted producer and arranger Quincy Jones as "like clothing, as she seduces you with her voice".
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Ras Baraka
- Occupations
- politicianhead teacher
- Biography
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Ras Jua Baraka is an American educator, author, and Democratic Party politician who is the 40th and current mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He was previously a member of the Municipal Council of Newark and the principal of the city's Central High School. Baraka was first elected mayor of Newark on May 13, 2014, and he was sworn in as the city's 40th mayor at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on July 1, 2014. He won re-election in 2018 and 2022.
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Jelani Cobb
- Occupations
- writereducator
- Biography
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William Jelani Cobb is an American writer, author, educator, and dean of the Columbia Journalism School.
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Shirley Franklin
- Occupations
- international forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Shirley Clarke Franklin is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 58th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves as a member on the board of directors for both Delta Air Lines and Mueller Water Products.
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Wendy Davis
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Wendy Davis is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Colonel Joan Burton in the Lifetime television drama series Army Wives (2007–2013), for which she received three NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series nominations.
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A. J. Calloway
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Albert Johnson "A. J." Calloway is an American entertainment reporter. He is known as the original host on 106 & Park, which originally aired on BET. After co-hosting the show for five years with Free, Calloway left the show on July 28, 2005.
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Alma Thomas
- Occupations
- art educatorpainterdrawerartist
- Biography
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Alma Woodsey Thomas was an African-American artist and teacher who lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and is now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century. Thomas is best known for the "exuberant", colorful, abstract paintings that she created after her retirement from a 35-year career teaching art at Washington's Shaw Junior High School.
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Charles Hamilton Houston
- Occupations
- university teacherlawyerjurist
- Biography
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Charles Hamilton Houston was an American lawyer. He was the dean of Howard University Law School and NAACP first special counsel. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School, Houston played a significant role in dismantling Jim Crow laws, especially attacking segregation in schools and racial housing covenants. He earned the title "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow".
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Summer Lee
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Summer Lynn Lee is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 34th district from 2019 to 2022. With the support of the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), she defeated incumbent Paul Costa in the 2018 Democratic primary election with over 67% of the vote. Lee was the first black woman to represent Southwestern Pennsylvania in the state legislature.
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Patricia Harris
- Occupations
- lawyerhuman rights activistpoliticiandiplomat
- Biography
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Patricia Roberts Harris was an American politician, diplomat, and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States secretary of health and human services from 1979 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. She previously served as the United States ambassador to Luxembourg from 1965 to 1967 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her public career, Harris was a trailblazer for women and people of color to hold a number of positions, including the first African American woman and woman of color ever to serve in a presidential cabinet and the first woman and person of color appointed to two different presidential cabinet positions. She was the first African American HHS secretary and just the second black HUD secretary, as well as the second woman to lead either of those executive departments. Furthermore, she was the first black woman U.S. ambassador, the dean of a U.S. law school, and a member of a Fortune 500 company's board of directors. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for mayor of the District of Columbia in the 1982 mayoral election but was defeated during the primaries, ultimately finishing second to incumbent mayor Marion Barry.
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Geri Allen
- Occupations
- university teachercomposerjazz pianistmusic teacherrecord producer
- Biography
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Geri Antoinette Allen was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh.
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Rich Harrison
- Occupations
- record producersongwriter
- Biography
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Richard Christopher Harrison is an American record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C., specializing in R&B and hip hop music.
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Shirley Graham Du Bois
- Occupations
- writerbiographercomposeroratorplaywright
- Biography
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Shirley Graham Du Bois was an American-Ghanaian writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf prizes for her works.
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Wallace Roney
- Occupations
- jazz musiciancomposertrumpeter
- Biography
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Wallace Roney was an American jazz (hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He has won 1 Grammy award and has two nominations.
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J. A. Preston
- Occupations
- film actorstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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James Allen Preston is an American former actor. Preston is best known for portraying Colonel Randolph in the movie A Few Good Men and for his role as Ozzie Cleveland on the NBC prime-time television series Hill Street Blues. He played Conn MacCleary in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
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Kamran Diba
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
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Kamran Diba is an Iranian architect and museum director. Prior to the Iranian Revolution Diba worked entirely in the public sector in Iran. He is currently residing in Paris, France.
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Lucille Clifton
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacherpoetauthorchildren's writer
- Biography
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Lucille Clifton was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Clifton was a finalist twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
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Benjamin Chavis
- Enrolled in Howard University
- 1980-1982 graduated with doctorate
- Occupations
- activist
- Biography
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Benjamin Franklin Chavis Jr. is an African-American activist, author, journalist, and the current president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. He serves as national co-chair for the political organization No Labels.
