Dr. Elson S. Floyd, the 10th president of Washington State University, died this summer after battling colon caner. Affectionately known as “E Flo” by his students, Dr. Floyd’s on-hands approach and connection to student culture endeared him to those who thrived under his leadership at the university level. Floyd was born February 29, 1956 in […]
Dr. George Cooper devoted much of his career to the advancement of HBCUs along with serving on the faculties of a few institutions. The former president of South Carolina State University passed away last Sunday, and his loss was a blow to the Obama Administration, according to a statement from the President. Cooper, a […]
Naomi Long Madgett, a former educator and poet laureate for the city of Detroit has given voice to several African-American poets by way of her publishing company and has left a mark in the Motor City in other ways as well. Born Naomi Cornelia Long on July 5, 1923, Madgett discovered a love for reading […]
There are a lot of people that can do many things, but only a few people that can do many things well. Scholar, educator, talk-show host, author, activist, wife and mother Melissa Harris-Perry is one of those people. The 41-year-old host of her self-titled MSNBC talk show, Harris-Perry has broken barriers in the competitive landscape […]
Guy Johnson is Dr. Maya Angelou’s only child. He hasn’t had the public profile that his mother did, but his moving eulogy to his mom was a highlight of her homegoing celebration. Johnson wants the world to know about his mother’s new book Rainbow In The Cloud The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou is out now […]
Alain Leroy Locke is recognized as one of the leading Black philosophers and educators, and was instrumental in bringing attention to the Harlem Renaissance. Among Locke’s many achievements, one of his most notable is he being the first African-American awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Born in Philadelphia, Pa. on September 13, 1866, Locke was […]
For iPhone: Dr. Shirley A. Jackson, one of the world’s leading scientists, endured racism, sexism and segregation during her journey to becoming the first Black woman to earn a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Jackson was born August 5, 1946 in Washington, D.C. Jackson’s parents encouraged their daughter’s love of the […]
For iPhone: Lucy Craft Laney was a pioneering educator in Georgia who opened the first school for Black children in Augusta. She also opened the first nursing school for Black women in the town as well, leading to a long career in education. Laney was born April 13, 1854 to former slave parents in […]
Clara Stanton Jones and her career as a top librarian was born early on when she was a young girl in her native St. Louis. Inspired by a love of reading and education, Jones was inspired by her family and a legendary civil rights pioneer on her way to become the first Black person to […]
James “Jay” Marshall Rogers Jr. was the first Black teacher to win the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher Of The Year award back on this day in 1972. Rogers went on to have a stellar career as a college professor and faculty member at the prestigious Philips Academy. Rogers was born June […]
Dr. Percy Julian was a pioneering chemist and scientist who developed a process that aided in the production of medicine from plants by way of chemical synthesis. Of Dr. Julian’s many achievements, chief among them is becoming the first African-American scientist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and just the second overall African-American of […]
