Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carter G. Woodson
Biographical details on Carter Woodson, an American historian who first opened the long-neglected field of black studies to scholars and also popularized the field in the schools and colleges of black people. He also founded Negro...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Harriet E. Wilson
Biographical details on Harriet Wilson, one of the first African-Americans to publish a novel in English in the United States.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Ida B. Wells Barnett
Provides biographical details on the life of African-American journalist, Ida B. Wells, who led an antilynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. She later was active in promoting justice for African Americans.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
Biographical sketch of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, an American community leader who was active in the women's rights movement and particularly in organizing African American women around issues of civic and cultural development.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Run d.m.c.
Biographical details on Run-D.M.C., the American rap group that brought hip-hop into the musical and cultural mainstream, introducing what became known as "new-school" rap.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Alice Walker
Biographical information on American writer Alice Walker whose novels, short stories, and poems are noted for their insightful treatment of African-American culture. Her novels, most notably The Color Purple (1982), focus particularly on...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Al Sharpton
Biographical details on Al Sharpton who began preaching at age four and became an ordained Pentecostal minister at age 10. A colorful and popular figure in the African American community, he embarked upon controversial protests that...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Amos Tutuola
Read about the life of Amos Tutuola, a Nigerian author of richly inventive fantasies. He is best known for the novel The Palm-Wine Drinkard and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town (1952), which was the first Nigerian book to...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Andrew Young
A brief biographical sketch of Andrew Young, an American politician, civil rights leader, and clergyman who served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1973-77) and later was mayor of Atlanta (1982-90).
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Archie Shepp
Learn about the life of Archie Shepp, African American tenor saxophonist, composer, dramatist, teacher, and pioneer of the free jazz movement.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Arthur Tappan
Biographical sketch of the life of Arthur Tappan, American philanthropist who used much of his energy and his fortune in the struggle to end slavery.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Augusta Savage
Read interesting facts about the life of American sculptor and educator, Augusta Savage, who battled racism to secure a place for African American women in the art world.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Augustus Tolton
Summarizes the life and career of Augustus Tolton, an American religious leader who is regarded as the first African American ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: August Wilson
Read about the life of African-American playwright, August Wilson, author of a cycle of plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th century, about black American life. He won Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1986) and The Piano Lesson...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bayard Rustin
Biographical information on Bayard Rustin, African-American civil rights activist who was a close adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bessie Smith
Biographical details on American singer, Bessie Smith, one of the greatest of blues vocalists.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Betty Shabazz
Biographical sketch of American educator and civil rights activist, Betty Shabazz, who is perhaps best known as the wife of slain black nationalist leader Malcolm X.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bill Robinson
Learn about the life and career of Bill Robinson, an American dancer of Broadway and Hollywood, best known for his dancing roles with Shirley Temple in films of the 1930s.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bill Russell
Biographical information on Bill Russell, an American basketball player who was the first outstanding defensive center in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of the sport's greatest icons.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Billy Strayhorn
Learn biographical details about American pianist and composer, Billy Strayhorn, who spent his entire career in collaboration with and as amanuensis to the composer and bandleader Duke Ellington.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bobby Seale
Learn about the life of Bobby Seale, African-American political activist, founder, along with Huey Newton, and national chairman of the Black Panther Party. Seale was one of a generation of young African-American radicals who broke away...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Rowan
Learn about the life and career of Carl Rowan, an American journalist, writer, and radio and television commentator, who was one of the first African American officers in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Stokes
Biographical sketch of American lawyer and politician, Carl Stokes, who became the first African-American to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city, having been elected to that office in Cleveland, Ohio (1967-71).
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Van Vechten
Learn about Carl Van Vechten, a U.S. novelist, music and drama critic, and an influential figure in New York literary circles in the 1920s.