18-year-old Makenzie Thompson is the latest to become an academic beacon of hope after the Georgia high school senior made our whole community proud by obtaining over $1.3 million in scholarship offers from 49 out of the 51 universities that she applied to for college.
The late Dr. Cornelius Golightly was one of the 20th Century’s most prominent public intellectuals who also amassed a series of “firsts” over the course of his life. Dr. Golightly was born on May 23, 1917. Cornelius Lacy Golightly was born in Waterford, Mississippi. He entered Alabama’s Talladega College at 17 and became something of […]
John Morton-Finney was a true Renaissance man, earning an impressive 11 degrees during his lifetime. The former Buffalo Soldier Army man and educator is also considered by some historians the longest-serving lawyer of all time. Morton-Finney was born to a former slave father and a free mother in Kentucky. The parents taught their seven children […]
Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist and anthropologist most famous for her 1937 novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Hurston’s path to prominence came by way of hardship and savvy ingenuity, helping her become one of the most beloved literary figures of all time.’ SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: Hurston was born on January […]
Scholar and historian Charles Blockson has become one of the foremost experts on Black history, culture and the Underground Railroad. He was born in Norristown, Pa.. on December 16, 1933. Blockson, the oldest of eight, was raised in Norristown by his parents, Annie and Charles Blockson. He became interested in African history from an early […]
Tragedy inspired Dr. Margaret Lawrence to pursue a career in medicine and despite facing sexism and extreme racism, she never stopped chasing her dreams. Dr. Lawrence passed last week. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM Lawrence was born in August 19, 1914 in New York City to a schoolteacher mother and Episcopal minister father. She […]
Theologian, minister, author, and activist Howard Thurman was best known as an influence and early mentor of some of the civil right movement’s most notable figures. The Daytona Beach, Fla. Native was born November 18, 1899. The Morehouse man graduated as class valedictorian in 1923, and two years later became an ordained Baptist minister in […]
Dr. Ruth Wright Hayre’s life story is one of extreme determination and strong legacy of Black excellence. She became the first Black high school teacher in the city of Philadelphia and shattered other barriers there as well. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM Dr. Hayre was born October 26, 1910. […]
Emmett Chappelle was a scientist and inventor who brought forth a wealth of innovation to the masses by way of his extensive research. The Phoenix, Ariz. native was born October 24, 1925. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM Chappelle served in the Army during World War II before earning his […]
William Boyd Allison Davis, widely as Allison Davis, was a pioneering educator and anthropologist who made history by becoming the first African-American to hold a faculty position at a major white university. The Washington, D.C. native was born October 14, 1902. Davis attended Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., one of the three “Little Ivies” – […]
Euphemia Lofton Haynes made history in 1943 by becoming the first Black woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics in the United States. The Washington, D.C. native was born September 11, 1890. The math pioneer was born Martha Euphemia Lofton to a dentist father and kindergarten teacher mother. She attended undergrad […]
Dr. Asa Grant Hilliard, in his words, considered himself “a teacher, a psychologist, and a historian,” first and foremost. The late scholar and proponent of African history and culture was born August 22, 1933 in Galveston, Texas. Hilliard attended the University of Denver, earning his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in education from the institution, all […]
