A.Philip Randolph
(1889-1979)
Background and Early Years
Asa Philip Randolph was a prominent 20th century Black civil rights leader, and he was founder of the first Black labor union in the United States. Randolph was born in Crescent City, Fla., ...
Posted Friday, January 11th 2008 at 4:37PM
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Reverend Al Sharpton
(1954- )
Background and Early Years
Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on October 3, 1954, to Alfred Charles Sharpton Sr. and Ada. He preached his first sermon at the age of four and toured with gosp...
Posted Tuesday, December 4th 2007 at 1:28PM
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Alain Locke
(1886-1954)
Background and Early Years
Alain LeRoy Locke was born in Philadelphia, on September 13, 1886, to Pliny Locke and Mary Hawkins. In 1902, he graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia and was second in his class. He a...
Posted Wednesday, December 5th 2007 at 12:16PM
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Alex Haley
(1921-1992)
Background and Early Years
American biographer, scriptwriter and novelist, whose most famous work is ROOTS, a publishing phenomenon and international bestseller. Haley traced in it his ancestry back to Africa and covered sev...
Posted Thursday, January 31st 2008 at 7:48PM
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1799-1811 Childhood
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was born in Moscow on June 6, 1799 (May 26, 1799 according to the Julian calendar used in Russia until 1917. All dates that follow will be given as Pushkin experienced them, “in the old style”). ...
Posted Sunday, November 8th 2009 at 5:01PM
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Alice Walker
(1944- )
Background and Early Years
Alice Malsenior Walker was born February 9, 1944, and is an American author and feminist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for one of her critically acclaimed novel, T...
Posted Friday, January 11th 2008 at 3:55PM
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Alice Walker is one of the most celebrated authors of our times. Walker was born on February 9, 1944 in Easton, Georgia. Born to Willie Lee Walker and Minnie Tullulah Grant, they were sharecroppers who worked on a farm earning as little as $300 a yea...
Posted Monday, February 18th 2008 at 10:25AM
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Aretha Franklin
(1942- )
Background and Early Years
Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, and is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She has been called "The Queen of Soul" for many years, but many also call...
Posted Tuesday, January 22nd 2008 at 11:36AM
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Arthur Ashe
(1943-1993)
Background and Early Years
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was born July 10, 1943 and was a prominent Black tennis player who was born and raised in Richmond, Va. During his playing career, he won three Grand Slam titles. Ashe is a...
Posted Tuesday, January 15th 2008 at 5:27PM
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Askia the Great (Askia Muhammad I)
Circa (1442-1538)
Background and Early Years
Askia the Great, also known as Muhammad Ture, was a Soninke king of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century. Askia Muhammad strengthened his country and made it th...
Posted Friday, January 25th 2008 at 2:00PM
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