Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Roland Burris
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Roland Burris, an American Democratic politician who was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois. His appointment as U.S. senator (2009-10) to fill the seat...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Larry Doby
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Larry Doby, an American baseball player, the second African-American player in the major leagues and the first in the American League when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1947.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: The Ink Spots
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features the Ink Spots, an American vocal group prominent in the late 1930s and '40s. One of the first African-American groups, along with the Mills Brothers, to reach both black and white...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: James E. Clyburn
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James E. Clyburn, an American politician who served as a Democratic congressman from South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives (from 1993). He was the second African-American and...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Michael S. Steele
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Michael S. Steele, an American politician, the first African-American to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC; 2009-2011).
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Robert E. Park
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Robert E. Park, an American sociologist noted for his work on ethnic minority groups, particularly African Americans, and on human ecology, a term he is credited with coining. One of the...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Amanda Smith
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Amanda Smith, an American evangelist and missionary who opened an orphanage for African-American girls.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Isaac Burns Murphy
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Isaac Burns Murphy, an American jockey who was the first to be elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York; he is one of only two African American...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: James Augustine Healy
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James Augustine Healy, the first African American Roman Catholic bishop in the United States and an advocate for children and Native Americans.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: James Winkfield
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James Winkfield, an American jockey, the last African-American to win the Kentucky Derby.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Mary Mahoney
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Mary Mahoney, an American nurse, the first African-American woman to complete the course of professional study in nursing.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Morgan Freeman
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Morgan Freeman, an American actor whose emotional depth and versatility made him one of the most-respected performers of his generation. Over a career that included numerous memorable...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Percy Ellis Sutton
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Percy Ellis Sutton, an American attorney, politician, and businessman born Nov. 24, 1920, San Antonio, Texas. This site, rich in detail and breadth of coverage, includes a wealth of...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Prudence Crandall
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Prudence Crandall, an American schoolteacher whose attempt to educate African American girls aroused controversy in the 1830s.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Ursula Burns
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ursula Burns, an American chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the international document-management and business-services company Xerox Corporation, who was the first African...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Wayne Embry
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Wayne Embry, an American professional basketball player and the first African-American to serve as the general manager of a professional sports franchise.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Woody Strode
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Woody Strode, an American character actor who was part of director John Ford's "family" of actors, appearing in nearly a dozen of Ford's films. Strode also had a brief career as a...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Shirley Horn
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Shirley Horn, an American jazz artist whose ballads, sung in a breathy contralto to her own piano accompaniment, earned her both critical acclaim and popular renown. This site, rich in...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Leon Forrest
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Leon Forrest, an African-American author of large, inventive novels that fuse myth, history, legend, and contemporary realism.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Haki R. Madhubuti
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Haki R. Madhubuti, an African American author, publisher, and teacher.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Robert C. Weaver
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Robert C. Weaver, a noted economist who was the first African-American to serve in the U.S. cabinet.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Johnny Dodds
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Johnny Dodds, an African-American musician noted as one of the most lyrically expressive of jazz clarinetists.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Johnny Griffin
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Johnny Griffin, an African American jazz tenor saxophonist noted for his fluency in the hard-bop idiom.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Little Brother Montgomery
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Little Brother Montgomery, a major African-American blues artist who was also an outstanding jazz pianist and vocalist. He cowrote "The Forty-Fours," a complex composition for piano that...