Black History Everyday

Jaden Smith born on July 8, 1998 is a vocalist, actor and activist. He partners with a spring water company called Just Water to create a water filtration system that can be used in poorer areas. He also started a mobile restaurant providing free vegan dinners for the homeless.

Gayl Jones 1949. Novelist, playwright, literary critic. After reading her manuscript Toni Morrison said of her: "that no novel about any black woman could ever be the same after this".

Darren Young 1978. Professional wrestler.

Mandy Carter 11/2/48 LGBT activist and co-founder National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC)

Margaret Sloan-Hunter 1947 - 2004 was a poet, Black lesbian feminist and civil rights advocate. She was one of the first editors of Ms. magazine. She co-created the National Black Feminist Organization and established the Women's Foundation.

Davian Chester born May 27, 1993 is an artist. His work focuses on black beauty and awareness. His logo for Juneteenth went viral and google offered him a job. Another important work of art was the #blueforsudan drawing to raise awareness for the Sudanese crisis.   

Margaret Garner was a Black slave who escaped in 1856 and was captured. She killed her daughter rather than to have her enslaved again. Her Story is the the basis for Toni Morrison's Beloved.

Odetta 1930 -2008 singer, actress, guitarist and activist. Referred to as "the voice of the civil rights movement"

Michael Jordan born February 17, 1963 was a professional basketball player. He has appeared on “Sports Illustrated” 50 times.

Rosa Parks 1913-2005 was an activist in the civil rights movement. She is best known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott. She is referred to as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement"

Elijah Muhammad 1897-1975 was a religious leader for the “Nation of Islam”.

Ali Birra 9/29/1947, is an Ethiopian singer and composer.

Billy Porter (September 21, 1969) is the first openly gay Black man nominated for the category Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmys in 2019.

Georgia Davis Powers 1923-2016 was the first person of color and woman elected to the senate. She served 21 years as a member of the state senate in Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Kenenisa Bekele 6/13/1982, is an Ethiopian runner who is the world record holder for the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs. He won both the gold medals for these events at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Carrie Saxon Perry born in 1931 was the first Black woman to be elected mayor of a major New England city- Hartford, Connecticut- in 1987. She had previously served as a state representative.

Abebe Bikila 8/7/1932-1960, was an Ethiopian runner who won the 1960 Summer Olympics 10,000 meter race barefoot.

Beah Richards 1920-2000 was an actress, poet, author and playwright. She was a member and organizer with the Communist Party USA in Los Angeles.

Jesse Owens 1913-1980 was a track and field athlete. He won four gold medals in the 1936 “Olympic Games”.

Simone Biles 1997 first woman gymnast to successfully land a triple-double in a floor exercise in August 2019.

Willmer “Little Ax” Broadnax 1916 - 1992 transgender gospel singer.

Dovie Hudson 1914-1994 is the sister of Winson Hudson, she was an activist for Black equality against white supremacy in Mississippi.

Rachel Robinson born in 1922 is a former professor, registered nurse and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson.

Isaac Murphy 1861-1896 was a “Hall of Fame” jockey.

Althea Simmons 1924-1990 was the head of the Washington branch of the N.A.A.C.P since 1979 and the chief lobbyist in the capital. She successfully lobbied for the extension of the Voting Rights Act in 1982.

Max Robinson (1939-1988) served as a co-anchor for ABC World News Tonight. He was the first Black broadcast network news anchor in the history of American television and one of the original founders of the National Association of Black Journalists bacon 1978.

Iman 7/25/1955, is a Somali-American model and actress.

The Texas Western Miners became the first predominantly Black basketball team to win an NCAA championship in 1966.

William Venoid Banks (1903-1985) founded WGPR-TV (Where God’s Presence Radiates) the first Black-owned television station in 1975.

Riquna Williams born May 28, 1990 is a basketball player who came out as lesbian. She plays in the  WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks.

Martina Arroyo 1937 Black Puerto Rican soprano performed at the Metropolitan Opera.

Lincoln Motion Picture Company became the first Black film company in 1916.

Black Swan Records was the first Black-owned recording company that sold popular music to black audiences the first company to record black classical musicians from 1921 and 1923.

The African Company was the first known Black theatre troupe acquired by William Henry Brown in 1821.  

Jesse B Blayton (1879-1977) founded WERD, the first Black-owned radio station in 1949.

Janet Collins 1917-2003 first Black artist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in 1951.

Nigerian-born Mike Adenuga (April 29, 1953) is the the world’s second richest black person as of 2019. His Conoil Producing Company was one of the first indigenous Nigerian companies to be granted an oil exploration license in the early 90s.

Cathy Adams is President and CEO of Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

Ida B Wells-Barnett 1862-1931 was an investigative journalist and educator. She was an early leader in the civil rights movements.

The New Orleans Tribune became the first Black Daily newspaper in 1864.

Association of Black Humanists formerly London Black Atheists founded in 2012.

Cliff Branch 1948 - 2019 one of five players to have all three championships of the Super Bowl, all with Oakland Raiders. Also one of the fastest players in the league.

The C.R. Patterson & Sons Company was the first Black owned automobile manufacturer, founded by Charles Richard Patterson in 1893 and running until 1939.

Aliko Dangote (April 10, 1957) is the world’s richest black man as of 2019. His fortune built from a private oil refinery in Nigeria which will have a refining capacity of 6500,000 barrels a day and is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports.

Ebony became the first Black magazine in mass circulation in 1945.

Robert F. Smith (December 1, 1962) is the founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners that focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. The firm has more than $46 billion in assets and is one of the best-performing private equity firms.

Patrice Motsepe (January 28, 1962) is South Africa’s first and only black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company and he also owns the African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the financial services sector.

Folorunsho Alakija (July 15, 1951) is Nigeria’s first female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil and a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele.

Jeh Johnson (born September 11, 1957) became the first Black United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2010.

Ava DuVernay (born August 24, 1972) is the first Black woman to be nominated for Best Director by the Golden Globe Awards for Selma in 2014.

Thomas Mundy Peterson (1824 – 1904) was the first Black man to vote in an election under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting voting rights regardless of race in 1870.

Woni Spotts born 1964 is the first Black woman to travel to every country and continent.

Patrick Francis Healy (1834 – 1910) was the first Black President of a major college; S.J. of Georgetown College in 1874.

Belinda Bennett is the first Black woman cruise ship captain. She sails for the MSC Wind Star as of 2007.

Mariano Rivera born 1969 Panamanian-American is the first player ever to best selected unanimously to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Carol Henderson first diversity and inclusion officer at Emory University in Atlanta, GA named vice provost for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer and advisor to the president 8/1/2019.

Jamar Roberts Alvin Ailey Dance Theater's first resident choreographer.

Joe Gans (November 25, 1874 – August 10, 1910) became the first Black boxing champion as a lightweight in 1902.

Judy W. Reed (born 1826) is first Black woman to hold a patent after acquiring one for an improved dough kneader in 1884.

Damion Gross, 1999 model, disability lifestyle influencer, YouTuber, model, actor.

Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, who became the first woman to hold the position of dean at Howard University’s School of Divinity in 2017,

National Association of Black Accountants founded in 1969. The goal of the “National Association of Black Accountants” is to represent Black accountants and finance professionals.

Abdullah Ibrahim 1934 is a South African pianist and composer.

Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond 1972 first woman of any race and first Black of any gender to be named President of New York Theological Seminary in 2019 in their 119 year history.

Lorenzo “Piper” Davis 1917 - 1997 first black prospect signed by the Boston Red Sox, back in 1950.

Black Socialists of America established 2017.

Benjamin Fernandes 1992 Tanzanian developer. Youngest African to be accepted into Stanford's Graduate School of Business, graduated 2017

Regina Y. Evans, 1962 Oakland, California,  poet, playwright , Social Justice Performer, Modern Day Abolitionist in the fight against sex  trafficking.

Clyde McPhatter 1932 - 1972 singer, doo wop and R & B.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (born 1975) is the first and current Surgeon General of California since 2019 and the Founder and former chief executive officer of the Center for Youth Wellness.

National Black MBA Association established in 1970. The goal of the “National Black MBA Association” is to increase diverse Black businesses.

Octavius Catto 1839 - 1871 educator and civil rights activist.

Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus made history by becoming the longest-running number 1 single to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at 17 weeks. He was also Twitter CEO for one day and earlier came out as gay.

Blacks in Technology is the largest community that focuses on Black people in the technology industry. Their goal is to increase the representation of Blacks in the technology industry.

Marcus Books , 1960, is a Black owned book store in Oakland,CA. Only around 50 Black book stores or opened in the United States.

Organization of Black Designers founded in 1990. Their goal is to empower their members with diverse design perspectives.

Black Data Processing Associates also known as the BDPA was organized in 1975. The BDPA supports professional growth and technical developments.

The Pan African flag was adopted August 13, 1920 and was designed by Marcus Garvey.

National Association of Black Journalists or the NABJ was founded in 1975. Their purpose is to advocate on behalf of Black journalists and provide services.