February 21, 1940 John Robert Lewis, civil rights leader and politician, was born in Troy, Alabama. Lewis earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in theology from the American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1961 and another Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University in 1963.
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Sharon Pratt Kelly – January 30th in African American History
January 30, 1944 Sharon Pratt Kelly, the first African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city, was born in Washington, D.C. Pratt attended Howard University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1965 and her Juris Doctorate degree in 1968. From 1977 to 1990, she was […]
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama – January 17th in African American History
January 17, 1964 Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, the first African American First Lady of the United States, was born in Chicago, Illinois. Obama earned her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Princeton University in 1985 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard University Law School in 1988. While at Harvard, she participated in demonstrations […]
Marcelite Jordan Harris – January 16th in African American History
January 16, 1943 Marcelite Jordan Harris, the first African American female General in the United States Air Force, was born in Houston, Texas. Harris earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and drama from Spelman College in 1964 and was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1965. She has held a variety of assignments, […]
Thomas J. Bradley – December 29th in African American History
December 29, 1917 Thomas J. Bradley, the first African American Mayor of Los Angeles, California, was born in Calvert, Texas but raised in Los Angeles. In 1940, Bradley became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department and rose to the rank of lieutenant, the highest ranking African American at that time. In 1956, he […]
Colin Powell – August 10th in African American History
On August 10, 1989, Colin Powell became the first African-American nominated as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking position in the military. President George H.W. Bush chose General Powell to head the armed forces based on his stellar career as an army officer. Having an African American Chair of the Joint Chiefs […]
Joseph Rainey – June 21st in African American History
June 21, in 1832, Joseph Hayne Rainey was born a slave in the rice-growing region of Georgetown, South Carolina. 1832 was a tumultuous time for race relations in America. The Nat Turner Rebellion of August 1831, in which a slave preacher led a band of enslaved men on a killing spree in Virginia, still caused […]