Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: w.c. Handy
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features W.C. Handy, an African American composer who changed the course of popular music by integrating the blues idiom into then-fashionable ragtime music. Among his best-known works is the...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: j.j. Johnson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features J.J. Johnson, an American jazz composer and one of the genre's most influential trombonists.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Buck O'neil
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Buck O'Neil, an American baseball player who was a player and manager in the Negro leagues.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Shaquille O'neal
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Shaquille O'Neal, an American basketball player, named in 1996 to the National Basketball Association (NBA) list of its 50 greatest players of all time.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Mo'nique
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Mo'Nique, an American actress, stand-up comedian, and talk-show host known for her bawdy humor and dramatic gravitas.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Howlin' Wolf
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Howlin' Wolf, an American blues singer and composer who was one of the principal exponents of the urban blues style of Chicago.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Morgan, Jr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Morgan, Jr., an American attorney born March 11, 1930, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., an American trial lawyer who gained international prominence with his skillful and controversial defense of O.J. Simpson, a football player and celebrity who was...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Louis Gossett, Jr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Louis Gossett, Jr., an American stage, screen, and television actor. In 1983 Gossett received an Academy Award for best-supporting actor for his portrayal of tough-hearted drill sergeant...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Robert Mc Ferrin, Sr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Robert McFerrin, Sr., an American opera singer who became the first African-American male to solo at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) when he made his 1955 debut as Amonasro in Giuseppe...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Roy Jones, Jr.
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Roy Jones, Jr., an American boxer who became only the second light heavyweight champion to win a heavyweight title. For several years beginning in the late 1990s, he was widely considered...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Charlotte E. Ray
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charlotte E. Ray, an American teacher and the first black female lawyer in the United States.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: E. Franklin Frazier
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features E. Franklin Frazier, an American sociologist whose work on African American social structure provided insights into many of the problems affecting the black community.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: E. Lynn Harris
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features E. Lynn Harris, an American author, who in a series of novels drew on his personal familiarity with the gay community to chronicle the struggles faced by African-American men with sexual...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Haki R. Madhubuti
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Haki R. Madhubuti, an African American author, publisher, and teacher.
Encyclopedia Britannica
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...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: James P. Johnson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James P. Johnson, a highly influential black American jazz pianist who also wrote popular songs and composed classical works. A founder of the stride piano idiom, he was a crucial figure...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: James T. Rapier
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James T. Rapier, a black planter and labor organizer who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama during Reconstruction.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: John E. Carter
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features John E. Carter, an American singer born June 2, 1934, Chicago, Ill.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Lisa P. Jackson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lisa P. Jackson, an American public official who served as commissioner of New Jersey's department of environmental protection (2006-08) and as administrator of the U.S. Environmental...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: M. Carl Holman
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features M. Carl Holman, an American civil rights leader, president of the National Urban Coalition (1971-88), who promoted the need for a mutual partnership between industry and government to...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Melville J. Herskovits
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Melville J. Herskovits, an American anthropologist noted for having opened up the study of the "New World Negro" as a new field of research. Herskovits was also known for his humanistic...
Encyclopedia Britannica
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).
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: R. Kelly
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features R. Kelly, an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who became one of the best-selling rhythm-and-blues (R&B) artists of the 1990s and early 21st century....