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Profiles of Renowned African Americans |
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W. E. B. Du Bois
Considered one of Black America's leading intellectuals, William Edward Burghardt Du Boisgraduated from Harvard in 1890, and was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1895. Born February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Mass., Du Bois helped create the Niagara Movement, an action-based group that challenged the then-accepted policy of compromise adapted by Booker T. Washington. "One could not be a calm, cool and detached scientist while Negroes were lynched, murdered and starved," he said. "Mr. Washington...belittles the emasculating effects of caste distinctions and opposes the higher training and ambition of our brighter minds...we must unceasingly and firmly oppose [him]."
In 1919, Du Bois became editor of The Crisis, the NAACP's magazine, which published works by Langston Hughesand other Harlem Renaissancewriters, as well as Du Bois' own provocative opinions. An avowed socialist, Du Bois was expelled from the NAACP in 1948 and censured by the U.S. Government in the 1950s for his support of the Soviet Union. In 1961, he moved to Ghana, where he died on August 27, 1963.
Matthew Henson
On April 6, 1909, explorer Matthew A. Henson, selected by Admiral Robert E. Peary to serve on his expedition to the North Pole, became the first person to reach the pole. Henson was born in Charles County, Maryland to free African American parents on August 8, 1866. When Matthew was 13 he took a position as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. In the next five years he traveled the world while learning everything he could about seamanship. But, due to the racism and prejudice he experienced from white sailors, he left his life at sea when he was 18.
Soon after returning to the east coast, Matthew met Peary, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy at the time. Peary offered Henson a job as his servant on an expedition to Nicaragua. During this time Henson demonstrated abilities in ways that proved extremely valuable to the expedition. As a result, Peary asked him to be part of the North Pole expedition.
Each expedition over the next two decades started from Greenland. It was here that Henson's experience at each attempt proved invaluable. He learned everything necessary from the native Innuit to live in the extreme climates of this hostile environment. In turn, he was responsible for training each member of the expedition, including Commander Peary. Though Henson was essentially the reason the group made it to the pole, it would be several decades before Henson received any credit for his contribution to the expedition.
Matthew Henson died on March 9, 1955. On April 6, 1959, a memorial plaque honoring the accomplishments of this great explorer was placed in the Maryland State House. Throughout his life Matthew Henson overcame great adversity. In doing so he demonstrated the finest qualities of the human spirit.
Rosa Parks
"Mother of the Movement"
It was December 1, 1955. Rosa Parks, born February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery city bus. She was arrested, fully prepared to stand up for her beliefs. "I had a life history of being rebellious against being mistreated because of my color," says Parks. She and other community leaders quickly organized a group to boycott the bus company -- Martin Luther King Jr., a young Baptist minister, was chosen as president. From Dec 5, 1955 to Dec. 20, 1956, 42,000 black Montgomery citizens ceased boarding city buses, prompting the Supreme Court to declare bus segregation illegal. "We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny," said King. "We have discovered a new and powerful weapon -- nonviolent resistance."
Malcolm X
Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm Xwas imprisoned for burglary in 1946 and began studying the teachings of the Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad. Released in 1952, he renamed himself Malcolm X and rose quickly with the NOI ranks. His sharp criticisms of civil rights leaders for advocating integration instead of building black institutions brought charges of fascism and racism from both conservatives and liberals. His response to that was: "It is not integration that the Negroes in America want, it is human dignity."
Malcolm disagreed with NOI on several issues and left in 1964 to form the Muslim Mosque, Inc. He also made his first pilgrimage to Mecca, adopting the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz -- and a nonracist viewpoint. But at so critical a juncture in the development of his ideology, Malcolm was gunned down on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem by men affiliated with NOI.
Andrew Young
Born in New Orleans on March 12, 1932, Young graduated from Gilbert Academy in 1947, attended Dillard University, and received a B.A. from Howard University in 1951. He received a Bachelor of Divinity in 1955 from Hartford Theological Seminary. Ordained by the United Church of Christ, he served as pastor in Marion, Alabama, and in Thomasville and Beachton, Georgia.
From 1957 to 1961 he was associate director of the National Council of Churches' department of youth work. In 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. appointed Young director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference(S.C.L.C.). Young was elected executive vice president of this organization in 1967. Throughout the 1960s, he helped plan S.C.L.C. campaigns to desegregate southern cities, directed training programs to assist local black leaders' preparations to hold public office and met with white business and political leaders to develop desegregation plans for their communities. From 1970 to 1972 he was chairman of the Atlanta Human Relations Commission. In 1970 he ran for Congress from the Fifth District of Georgia but lost to incumbent Republican Representative Fletcher Thompson. He won the same seat in 1972 by defeating the Republican nominee, Rodney M. Cook.
After Young entered the 93rd Congress, he became a member of the Committee on Banking and Currency. Following his re-election in 1974, he became the first black representative to join the Committee on Rules. During the 1976 presidential campaign, Young was one of Jimmy Carter's chief supporters in the black community and delivered one of the two seconding speeches for Carter at the Democratic convention. Young resigned from Congress on January 29, 1977 to accept appointment from President Carter as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, becoming the first African American to do so. He resigned as ambassador in September 1979. In April 1981 Young announced his candidacy for mayor of Atlanta. After his election in October, he took office on January 4, 1982, and was reelected to a second term in 1985.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.reaffirmed the American dream that all people are created equal. Born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, he came to national prominence as the leader of the successful 1955-56 bus boycott in MontgomeryAlabama. To further the cause, King and other southern black ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC) in 1957. King's strategy of nonviolence proved effective over and over -- drawing support from people outside the black community, including political figures, and culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964and the Voting Rights Act of 1965and his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prizein 1964. King spoke out against racial injustice, the Vietnam Warand the plight of the poor, until April 4, 1968, when he was assassinatedin Memphis, Tennessee. His wife Coretta Scott King and their four children (Yolanda, Martin Luther King III, Dexter, and Bernice) continue to carry on his legacy of courage and high moral leadership.
Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches in RealAudio.
Bill Russell
William Felton Russell, shown here with coach Red Auerbach, joined the Boston Celtics in 1957 and went on to lead them to 11 NBA championships in 13 years, earning him the distinction as the greatest winner basketball has ever seen. Russell is also credited with changing the way defense is played on the basketball court, and is considered the greatest defensive center in NBA history. He won five NBA MVP awards, and was a 12-time All-Star. In 1966, he made history by becoming the player/coach of the Celtics, making him the first African American coach in professional sports.
Even though he brought glory to Boston as leader of the Celtics, he experienced quite a bit of bigotry off the court. Says teammate Tommy Heinsohn, "This man was the target of so much hatred and jealousy -- I just don't think Boston was prepared for a black player to be the most dominant force in basketball history."
Born Feb. 12, 1934 in Monroe, La., Russell attended the University of San Francisco on an athletic scholarship and led USF to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning 1956 U.S. Olympics team in Melbourne. Russell retired in 1969 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Michael Jordan
As a high school sophomore, Michael Jordanwas cut from the basketball team because the coach felt he was too small. Thanks to his ability to use negativity as inspiration, Jordan persevered to eventually become the greatest basketball player ever. Born Feb. 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in Wallace, North Carolina, Jordan sank the winning basket in the 1982 NCAA championship as a freshman at the University of North Carolina. That was only the beginning of his greatness. In the NBA, he went on to lead the Chicago Bulls to six championships in eight years (1991-1993, 1996-1998).
In addition to the six championships, Jordan accumulated several individual accolades, including a record six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, five regular season MVP awards, three All-Star Game MVP awards (in 11 All-Star appearances), 10 scoring titles (an NBA record, averaging 31.5 ppg for his career), an NBA-record 33.4 playoff scoring average, and the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year award. He has been named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, and the All-NBA Defensive First Team nine times (an NBA record). He also holds the NBA record for most points in a playoff game (63 vs. Boston) -- a record he set in only his third NBA season, having just come back from a foot injury that kept him out for 64 regular-season games. He currently ranks fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 29,277 points.
"He's the greatest player I've ever seen," said NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West. "Forget the spectacular; it was his will, his skill, his talent that set him apart. But he's a greater treasure as a person than as a player." Indeed, Jordan has transcended the game to become a cultural icon through movie roles and scores of advertisements. Says Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jordan is "the greatest corporate pitchman of all time." Chinese students voted Jordan into a tie with their former prime minister Chou En-lai as the "world's greatest man".
13 months after his retirement from the NBA, Jordan is now minority owner and President of Basketball Operations of the Washington Wizards.
Jesse Owens
The son of a sharecropper and the grandson of former slaves, Jesse Owensbeat the odds and became a record-breaking hero at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Ala., the 10th of 11 children, he was nine years old when his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He set high school track and field records, and in college at Ohio State, he won 42 events, including four in the Big Ten Championships, four in the NCAA Championships and three at the Olympic trials.
In Germany -- where the Nazis had ridiculed the U.S. for letting "non-humans" like Owens compete -- the young athlete delivered a humiliating defeat to the Third Reich, winning an unprecedented four gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400-meter relay and the long jump, setting a record that would stand for 25 years. Owens returned to New York and a ticker-tape parade -- but he had to ride in the freight elevator to a reception in his honor at the Waldorf-Astoria.
"When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus," he noted. "I couldn't live where I wanted. I was invited to shake hands with Hitler -- but I wasn't invited to shake hands with the president either."
Despite his Olympic triumph, Owens was forced to earn a living by racing against horses at exhibitions. Finally in 1976, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom. He died on March 31, 1980 in Tucson, Arizona of lung cancer.
Althea Gibson
In her 23-year career, Althea Gibsondominated the women's game of tennis and set a few firsts along the way. She was the first black competitor at the National Championships (later renamed the U.S. Open) in 1950; the first black to play at Wimbledon (1951); the first black to win a grand slam title (the French Open, 1956); the first to win Wimbledon (1957, 1958); the first to win the U.S. National (1957, 1958); and the first black to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (1971).
After her 1957 Wimbledon triumph, Gibson was honored with a ticker-tape parade on Broadway, but despite her athletic talent -- she became a professional golfer in the '60s -- Gibson was forever frustrated by her inability to earn a living in sports. "When I came out of tennis as the world champ and turned pro in '63, I was a big name in sports," she said in 1969. "You'd think some sporting goods company would have signed me, but to this day I still haven't got an association with any firm."
The oldest of five children, Gibson was born August 25, 1927 in Silver, S.C., and was raised in Harlem. In an interview held at the time of Arthur Ashe's death in 1993, Gibson, who learned to play tennis on the public courts in Harlem, remarked, "I'd like to see more black women and men players coming up. (But) you have to have the wherewithal to become a champion. It's not given to you. You have to earn it."
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashewas the first black man to win the U.S. Open (1968), the Australian Open (1970) and Wimbledon (1975), but he transcended tennis. He was a human rights advocate who was one of the first to speak out against apartheid in South Africa and participated in countless civic projects. When Nelson Mandela, just released from prison, met Ashe, he broke into tears -- because he was meeting his hero.
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr., was born July 10, 1943 in Richmond, VA. "Blacks didn't publicly protest much in Virginia when I was growing up," Ashe once said. "I made peace with Virginia and the South," he wrote in his memoir Days of Grace. "But segregation had achieved by that time what it was intended to achieve: It left me a marked man, forever aware of a shadow of contempt that lay across my identity and my sense of self-esteem...I don't want to overstate the case. I think of myself, and other think of me, as supremely self-confident...Still I know that the shadow is always there; only death will free me, and blacks like me, from its pall."
The No. 1 ranked player in the world in 1975, Ashe suffered a heart attack in 1979 and was forced to retire from the game. He turned his energies to promoting education -- including tennis programs for inner-city youth -- and in 1988 wrote the definitive work on black athletes in America, A Hard Road to Glory. In 1992, he announced that he had contracted the HIV virus from a tainted blood transfusion during one of his two heart bypass operations. He established the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the defeat of AIDS. He was 49 when he died on February 6, 1993, survived by his wife of 16 years, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, and their daughter, Camera.
Wilma Rudolph
Wilma Glodean Rudolph'sname entered the record books when she became the first American woman -- regardless of color -- to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Upon returning home to Clarksville, Tenn., she refused to participate in a parade in her honor until the town changed its segregated ways. The powers-that-be gave in, and as the integrated band played during the ceremony, the mayor remarked that it took both black and white keys to make beautiful music.
Born June 23, 1940 as the 20th of 22 children, Wilma overcame both double pneumonia and scarlet fever (which left her left leg paralyzed) to become a member of the 1956 Olympic team. Her example would inspire many future female athletes, including the fastest woman in the world, Florence Griffith-Joyner. "Her determination, dedication, discipline, devotion, desire, and the dream to make it happen inspired me to hold on to what I have inside -- and what I don't have, I work hard for," said Flo-Jo.
Rudolph died of a malignant brain tumor on November 12, 1994.
"She was the Jesse Owens of women's track and field, and like Jesse, she changed the sport for all time," notes Olympic historian Bud Greenspan.
Walter Payton
Nicknamed "Sweetness" for the grace and style he brought to the game of football, Walter Paytonwas selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1975 draft. He was the NFL's leading rusher and most valuable player in 1977, surpassed Jim Brownas the NFL's leading rusher of all time 1984 (he ended his career with 16,726 yards), led the team to a Super Bowl victory in 1986 and also leads the league in total yards gained -- 21,803. Of the 190 games Payton played over 13 seasons as a Bear, he only missed one due to injury. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
After retiring from football in 1987, Payton built a $30 million business empire that included a construction company, a restaurant, brewery, and a professional car racing team. His Walter Payton Foundation provided Christmas presents for over 35,000 wards of the state of Illinois and co-sponsored an adoption fair that led to 50 adoptions.
Payton, born July 25, 1954 in Columbia, Mississippi, died of liver cancer on November 1, 1999. A crowd of 20,000 gathered at Soldiers Field in Chicago on November 6 for a memorial service in his honor. Of Payton, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said at the tribute, "On this Soldiers Field and dozens more, he was a football warrior and gladiator -- in the eyes of many, he was the greatest football player of all time."
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson, born February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the first African American to win international renown as an opera singer, and is considered one of the great operatic voices of the century. Singing at a time of great social upheaval for African Americans, Anderson's professional career contained many operatic and civil rights milestones.
In 1919, she was awarded the first scholarship of the National Association of Negro Musicians at their convention in Chicago. Illinois. On December 30, 1935, she made her Town Hall debut in New York, fresh from a triumphant tour in Europe. Anderson was hailed by New York critics as one of the "great singers of our time." Her performance was described by Howard Taubman, the New York Times reviewer, as "music-making that probed too deep for words."
On April 9, 1939, she sang before 75,000 people at theLincoln Memorialafter being refused permission to perform at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
On January 7, 1955 Anderson debuted with the Metropolitan Opera, appearing as Ulrica in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera". In this performance, she became the first African American ever to sing with the company. In 1963, Anderson, along with Ralph Bunche, received the first Medal of Freedomfrom President John F. Kennedy, the creator of the award.
Anderson received Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and the Kennedy Center held a gala in observance of the 100th anniversary of her birth in 1997.
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill, born May 25, 1975 in South Orange, NJ., is a hip-hop phenomenon. Her second album with the Fugees, The Score, went platinum, earning them international success -- and a Best Rap Album Grammy. Wanting to spread her wings creatively, Hill took control in the recording studio. "Men like it when you sing to them, but step out and try to control things and there are doubts," she notes. "This is a very sexist industry." Her 1998 solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was a huge success -- and the five Grammys that Hill won in 1999 were a record for a female artist. Deeply religious, Hill is founder of The Refugee project, dedicated to improving the quality of life for inner-city children.
Jimi Hendrix
Considered the most innovative guitarist of the rock era, Jimi Hendrixtaught
himself how to play after listening to Muddy Waters, B.B. Kingand Chuck Berryrecords. Born James Marshall Hendrix -- and first using the stage name Jimmy James -- he honed his chops playing behind the likes of Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Ike and Tina Turner, and The Isley Brothers. He became a star in his own right after moving to London in 1966, where he formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The group's first two singles, Hey Joe and Purple Haze, made him a star in the UK and his virtuosity on the guitar fascinated such rock luminaries as Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend. But it wasn't until an incendiary performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 -- which he concluded by setting his guitar on fire -- that Hendrix attained superstardom in America.
Aside from his flashy, energetic, stage shows, Hendrix was also known for the way he changed music. Most rock artists and historians consider him the "father of heavy metal" for his transformation of the guitar from the twangy sound of the early 60s to the overdriven, sustaining, screaming tones we know in rock today. In addition to emphasizing the "electric" aspect of guitar and rock music with innovative effects devices, Hendrix was also responsible for blending rock with his blues/R&B/soul background, which influenced a generation of guitarists such as Ernie Isley, Prince, Jesse Johnson (of The Time), and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Late in Hendrix's career, he began fusing funk and jazz with his groundbreaking rock/soul sound, which further served to inspire the music we hear today.
Born November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Wash., Hendrix died in London on September 18, 1970 from inhalation of vomit due to an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.
Miles Davis
"To be and stay a great jazz musician, you've got to always be open to what's new, what's happening at the moment," wrote Miles Davisin his 1989 autobiography Miles. The trumpeter, bandleader and composer was a restless innovator who introduced cool jazz in the 1950's, modal jazz in the 1960s and jazz/rock fusion in the 1970's. Born May 25, 1926 in Alton, Ill., Davis died of pneumonia, respiratory failure and a stroke on September 25, 1991, in Santa Monica, Calif. "[He was my] mentor, idol, big brother and great friend," said Quincy Jonesat Davis' memorial service.
Diana Ross
Diana Rosswas born March 26, 1944 in Detroit, and began her musical career performing in church. But she was on her way when she and neighbors Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson changed their group's name from the Primettes to the Supremes in 1961 and signed with Motown. The Supremes didn't enjoy immediate success -- their first No.1 hit, 1964's Where Did Our Love Go, was their ninth release. But it was quickly followed by a string of hits, including Baby Love (1964), Stop! In the Name of Love (1965). They had 10 top hits in all between 1964 and 1967.
"We actually created an image for girl groups," says Ross. "I was brought up with people who had a lot of integrity, caring about others. So the image that we created was very ladylike, very feminine."
In 1968, the group traveled to London to perform before the royal family. When they discovered that another group set to perform, George Mitchell's Black and White Minstrels, were appearing in blackface, Ross announced that the Supremes would not go on. But then she was convinced that pulling out would be interpreted as a direct snub to the royals.
In the middle of the finale, Somewhere, she turned to face the royal box and began to speak softly. "Yes, there's a place for each of us, and we must try to pursue that place. Let our efforts be as determined as those of Martin Luther King, who had a dream that all God's children -- black men, white men, Jews, Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics -- could join hands and sing that great spiritual of old...Free at last! Great God almighty, free at last!" According to Mary Wilson, "A tear rolled down Diana's cheek as we picked up the song again."
At a press conference, Ross stood her ground as journalists demanded to know why she'd made such a statement in front of the royal family. "Why not in front of the royal family?" she countered. "They're human, and they must know what's going on in this world. I share the same feeling as James Brownwhen he says, 'I'm black and I'm proud.'"
Ross left the Supremes in 1970 and launched her solo career with the No. 1 hit Ain't No Mountain High Enough. In 1972, she earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Billie Holidayin Lady Sings the Blues.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklinwas born to sing gospel. The daughter of a Baptist preacher and a mother whose singing won praise from Mahalia Jackson, Franklin performed solos in her father's Detroit church by the time she was 12 and was recording at 14. Franklin, who was born March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tenn., was 25 when she recorded her breakthrough album, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You in 1967.
For the next eight years, the "Queen of Soul" dominated the charts with songs like Natural Woman, Respect, Chain of Fools and Think. "For black women, Aretha is the voice that made all the unsaid sayable, powerful and lyrical," says writer Thulani Davis.
Franklin, who can claim 20 R&B chart toppers and 15 Grammys, was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her voice comforted mourners at the funerals of Martin Luther King and Mahalia Jackson -- and electrified the inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. She's even ventured into opera, stunning the audience at the 1998 Grammys when she filled in for Luciano Pavarotti. Excited by her classical experience, Franklin now studies opera at Juilliard -- but has no plans to give up soul. "Soul is a constant -- it's always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees," she says.
Dorothy Dandridge
Actress/singer Dorothy Dandridgebroke all barriers to emerge as a Hollywood star -- but paid the ultimate price as tragedy shadowed her life and racism cost her her fame. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on November 9, 1922, she refused to perform in any club that didn't have special seating for the NAACP. She also got several small movie roles. But it was playing the title role in the all-black operatic production of Carmen Jones in 1954 that made her an international star -- earning her the first Academy Award nomination for an African American in a leading role.
Dandridge was now an A-list actress, but one Hollywood didn't know what to do with. Film roles should have been pouring in, but they weren't. "America was not geared to make me into a Liz Taylor, a Monroe, a Gardner," Dandridge would write in her autobiography. "Whore roles were there, of course -- my sex symbolism was as a wanton, a prostitute, not as a woman seeking love and a husband, the same as other women. I had realized everything except the limitations naturally placed upon me through being a Negro."
As her personal life unraveled, she was helpless to stop her once bright career's downward spiral. With the help of her few friends, Dandridge began to turn her life around. But on September 8, 1965, she was found dead in her West Hollywood apartment of a barbiturate overdose. She was 42 years old.
Halle Berry
Halle Berryis determined to make major changes in Hollywood's view of African Americans. "I want the same shot as everyone else, but I never even got the chance to read for Silence of the Lambs or Indecent Proposal," she notes. "The excuse is that a black woman would change what the movie is all about." Born August 14, 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio, Berry strongly identified with '50s actress Dorothy Dandridge and was determined to bring her tragic life to the screen. After the project was rejected by every major film studio, HBO not only agreed to do the film -- Berry got full creative control as Introducing Dorothy Dandridge's star and producer. "I hope this film will open doors not only for me but for other women of color," she says.
With successful roles in Bullworth and Why Do Fools Fall in Love, doors are opening wide for Halle Berry.
Vanessa Williams
In 1983, Vanessa Williamsbecame the first African American to be crowned Miss America. Despite being dethroned when revealing photos of her became public, she rallied through the scandal to become a major star in music, theater and the big screen. Instead of fading into obscurity after her humiliating resignation, Williams soared into the spotlight. Her debut album, The Right Stuff, achieved gold status and her two subsequent albums went platinum.
Born March 18, 1963 in Tarrytown, N.Y. to Milton and Helen Williams, both music teachers, Williams received a scholarship to Syracuse University, where she majored in musical theater. When her scholarship ran out, she entered the Miss Syracuse beauty pageant in the hopes of getting money for school. She's appeared on Broadway in Kiss of the Spiderwoman and her film career includes starring opposite Arnold Schwarzengger in 1996's Eraser and playing an ambitious attorney in the critically acclaimed Soul Food in 1997.
A mother of three from her marriage to Ramon Hervey, she wed Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Rick Fox last summer.
Eartha Kitt
Orson Welles called her "the most exciting woman in the world", and once got so excited, he bit her onstage. Ed Sullivan once said, "When she dropped her head and walked straight at you, it was like getting hit with a black-jack."
Born in Columbia, S.C., on January 26, 1928, Eartha Kittgrew up in Spanish Harlem. She is one of only a few entertainers to be nominated for all the major show business prizes: an Academy Award, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy. A television role for which she is most remembered is that of Catwoman in the original Batman series.
Once she had hit it big in the early '50's, she "made a stipulation in my contracts in the U.S. that I refuse to work in front of a segregated audience." Kitt's career suffered a serious setback in 1968 when, invited to the White House for a conference on urban youth by Lady Bird Johnson, she pointed out that it was impossible to persuade young people to avoid crime if the reward for a clean police record was to be drafted and sent to Vietnam. "Within two hours I was out of work in this country," says Kitt. Her career never quite recovered.
Cicely Tyson
Nominated for an Academy Award in 1972 for her role as Rebecca in Sounder, Cicely Tysonhas spent her career portraying strong black women: her Emmy-Award characterization of Jane Pittman in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974); Binta, mother of Kunta Kinte, in Roots(1977); Harriet Tubman in A Woman Called Moses (1978); and Coretta Scott Kingin King (1978). "Because of the ignorance and bigotry and discrimination, I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress -- I utilize my profession as my platform," she says.
A longtime social activist, Tyson, who was born on December 19, 1933 in East Harlem, has acted as UNICEF's spokesperson for nutrition, health care and education, and she also founded, with Arthur Mitchell, The Dance Theatre of Harlem. "Cicely is the kind of person who takes on things that she believes in," says Bill Cosby. "She's unrelenting, so once her commitment is made, that's it."
John Coltrane
The king of the tenor saxophone and the innovator of "free jazz," John Coltraneopened new frontiers with his free-form solos. "I could listen to him for hours, and it'd only seem like minutes," said drummer Elvin Jones. Stints with Dizzy Gillespieand then Miles Davis in 1955 ended because of Coltrane's addictions to heroin and alcohol. But after Thelonious Monk hired him, Coltrane experienced a spiritual epiphany and swore off drugs and alcohol and recorded one masterpiece after another. "When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something good for people," he said. "I want to speak to their souls." Born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, N.C., Coltrane died on July 17,1967, in Long Island, N.Y.
Rosie The Riveter African American Style
Elizabeth Eckford was born in Little Rock in 1942. Like most children in the Deep South, Eckford went to a segregated school. The states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky all prohibited black and white children from attending the same school.
In 1952 the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People appealed to the Supreme Court that school segregation was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that separate schools were acceptable as long as they were "separate and equal". It was not too difficult for the NAACP to provide information to show that black and white schools in the South were not equal.
After looking at information provided by the NAACP, the Supreme Court announced in 1954 that separate schools were not equal and ruled that they were therefore unconstitutional. Some states accepted the ruling and began to desegregate. However, several states in the Deep South, including Arkansas, refused to accept the judgment of the Supreme Court.
On 4th September, 1957, Elizabeth Eckford and eight other African American students attempted to enter Little Rock Central High School, a school that previously had only accepted white children. The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, was determined to ensure that segregation did not take place and sent the National Guard to stop the children from entering the school.
On 24th September, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower, went on television and told the American people: "At a time when we face grave situations abroad because of the hatred that communism bears towards a system of government based on human rights, it would be difficult to exaggerate the harm that is being done to the prestige and influence and indeed to the safety of our nation and the world. Our enemies are gloating over this incident and using it everywhere to misrepresent our whole nation. We are portrayed as a violator of those standards which the peoples of the world united to proclaim in the Charter of the United Nations."
After trying for eighteen days to persuade Orval Faubus to obey the ruling of the Supreme Court, Eisenhower decided to send federal troops to Arkansas to ensure that black children could go to Little Rock Central High School. The white population of Little Rock were furious that they were being forced to integrate their school and Faubus described the federal troops as an army of occupation. Elizabeth Eckford and the eight other African American children at the school suffered physical violence and constant racial abuse. Parents of four of the children lost their jobs because they had insisted in sending them to a white school. Eventually Orvel Faubus decided to close down all the schools in Little Rock.
In 1958 Elizabeth Eckford moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she achieved the necessary qualifications to study for a B.A. in history. After university she became the first African American in St. Louis to work in a bank in a non-janitorial position.
Elizabeth Eckford eventually moved back to Little Rock, Arkansas, and is now the mother of two sons.
Elizabeth Eckford attempting to enter Little Rock School
on 4th September, 1957. The girl shouting is Hazel Massery.
Significant African American Firsts
50 Events that Changed African American History
African American Celebrities
Biographies of Notable African Americans
African Americans in Films
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