Biographies of Famous African Americans
Updated July 1, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- A
- Aaliyah
- Hank Aaron
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Ralph Abernathy
- Freddy Adu
- Alvin Ailey
- Akon
- Ira Aldridge
- Archibald Alphonso Alexander
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Muhammad Ali
- Debbie Allen
- Richard Allen
- Marian Anderson
- Maya Angelou
- Carmelo Anthony
- James Armistead
- Henry Armstrong
- Louis Armstrong
- Matthew Ashby
- Arthur Ashe
- Evelyn Ashford
- Crispus Attucks
- B
- James Baldwin
- Ella Baker
- Josephine Baker
- Vernon Baker
- Ernie Banks
- Tyra Banks
- Benjamin Banneker
- Amira Baraka
- Charles Barkley
- Richmond Barthé
- Count Basie
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Angela Bassett
- Daisy Bates
- Elgin Baylor
- Bob Beamon
- Romare Bearden
- DaMarcus Beasley
- Harry Belafonte
- Shari Belafonte-Harper
- James "Cool Papa" Bell
- Albert Belle
- Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000)
- Chuck Berry
- Halle Berry
- Mary McLeod Bethune
- Beyoncé
- Black Panthers
- Eubie Blake
- Mary J. Blige
- Guion Bluford
- Manute Bol
- Julian Bond
- Barry Bonds
- Arna Bontemps
- Ralph Boston
- Edward Bouchet
- Lil' Bow Wow
- Boyz II Men
- Benjamin Bradley
- Tom Bradley
- Brandy
- Herman Russell Branson
- Andre Braugher
- Carol Moseley-Braun
- Ruby Bridges
- Valerie Brisco-Hooks
- Lou Brock
- Edward Brooke
- Avery Brooks
- Gwendolyn Brooks
- Foxy Brown
- James Brown
- Jim Brown
- Willie Brown
- Blanche Bruce
- Kobe Bryant
- Buck Buchanan
- Edward Bullins
- Ralph Bunche
- Harry T. Burleigh
- Leroy Burrell
- LeVar Burton
- Octavia Butler
- C
- Herman Cain
- Lee Calhoun
- Cab Calloway
- Roy Campanella
- Earl Campbell
- Milt Campbell
- Rod Carew
- Stokely Carmichael
- Diahann Carroll
- Julia Carson
- Benny Carter
- Betty Carter
- Cris Carter
- George Washington Carver
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Chamillionaire
- Emmett W. Chappelle
- Ray Charles
- Don Cheadle
- Charles W. Chesnutt
- Chingy
- Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm
- Chuck D
- Ciara
- Joseph Cinqué
- Kenneth B. Clark
- Eldridge Cleaver
- George Clinton
- Alice Coachman
- Johnny Cochran
- Jewel Plummer Cobb
- Natalie Cole
- Nat "King" Cole
- Rebecca Cole
- Bessie Coleman
- Gary Coleman
- John Coltrane
- Claudette Colvin
- Sean "Diddy" Combs
- Common
- John Conyers
- Coolio
- Bill Cosby
- David Crosthwait, Jr.
- Scatman Crothers
- Paul Cuffe
- Countee Cullen
- D
- Dorothy Dandridge
- Angela Davis
- Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
- Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.
- Ernie Davis
- Miles Davis
- Ossie Davis
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Viola Davis
- Dominique Dawes
- William L. Dawson
- Ruby Dee
- Anita DeFrantz
- Martin Robinson Delany
- Destiny's Child
- Robert Nathaniel Dett
- Gail Devers
- Eric Dickerson
- Bo Diddley
- Harrison Dillard
- David Dinkins
- Father Divine
- DMX
- Larry Doby
- Snoop Dogg
- Antoine "Fats" Domino
- Tony Dorsett
- Thomas A. Dorsey
- Frederick Douglass
- James "Buster" Douglas
- Dr. Dre
- Charles Richard Drew
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Katherine Dunham
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
- Ava DuVernay
- E
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- F
- G
- Clarence "Big House" Gaines
- Alonzo "Jake" Gaither
- The Game
- Henry Highland Garnet
- Marcus Garvey
- Cito Gaston
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
- Marvin Gaye
- Leymah Gbowee
- George Gervin
- Althea Gibson
- Bob Gibson
- Josh Gibson
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni
- Danny Glover
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Berry Gordy, Jr.
- Louis Gossett, Jr.
- Joe Greene
- Greensboro Four
- Pam Grier
- Ken Griffey, Jr.
- Archie Griffin
- Florence Griffith Joyner
- Archibald H. Grimke
- Guru
- Tony Gwynn
- H
- Marvin Hagler
- Alex Haley
- Lloyd Augustus Hall
- Prince Hall
- Fannie Lou (Townsend) Hamer
- Lisa Gay Hamilton
- Jupiter Hammon
- Lionel Hampton
- Herbie Hancock
- William Christopher Handy
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Ben Harper
- Barbara C. Harris
- Franco Harris
- William H. Hastie
- Richard Gordon Hatcher
- Elvin Hayes
- Isaac Hayes
- Roland Hayes
- Thomas Hearns
- Height, Dorothy
- Rickey Henderson
- Jimi Hendrix
- Matthew Henson
- Taraji P. Henson
- Leon A. Higginbotham, Jr.
- Anita Hill
- Lauryn Hill
- Gregory Hines
- Billie Holiday
- Larry Holmes
- Evander Holyfield
- John Lee Hooker
- Bell Hooks
- Benjamin Hooks
- Lena Horne
- Charles Hamilton Houston
- Whitney Houston
- Terrence Howard
- William DeHart Hubbard
- Jennifer Hudson
- Langston Hughes
- Joe Hunter
- Zora Neale Hurston
- I
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- J
- Bo Jackson
- Janet Jackson
- Jesse Jackson
- Jesse Jackson Jr.
- Mahalia Jackson
- Maynard Jackson
- Michael Jackson
- Reggie Jackson
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr.
- Etta James
- LeBron James
- Judith Jamison
- Ja Rule
- Jay-Z
- Eve Jeffers
- Mae Jemison
- Thomas L. Jennings
- Derek Jeter
- Dennis Johnson
- Ervin "Magic" Johnson
- Jack Johnson
- James Weldon Johnson
- John Johnson
- Johnnie Johnson
- Judy Johnson
- Michael Johnson
- Rafer Johnson
- Robert Johnson
- Robert L. Johnson
- Deacon Jones
- Frederick McKinley Jones
- James Earl Jones
- Lois Mailou Jones
- Marion Jones
- Mike Jones
- Quincy Jones
- Roy Jones Jr.
- Scott Joplin
- Barbara Jordan
- Michael Jordan
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
- Percy Julian
- Johanna July
- Ernest Everett Just
- K
- L
- John Mercer Langston
- Nella Larsen
- Eriq La Salle
- Queen Latifah
- Lewis Howard Latimer
- Martin Lawrence
- Jacob Lawrence
- Huddie Ledbetter
- Spike Lee
- Buck Leonard
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Bill Lewis
- Carl Lewis
- Edmonia Lewis
- John R. Lewis
- Reginald Lewis
- Sonny Liston
- Earl Lloyd
- Alain Locke
- Greenbury Logan
- Joe Louis
- Toussaint L'Ouverture
- Mildred Loving
- Ludacris
- Loretta Lynch
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- M
- Bernie Mac
- Malcolm X
- Karl Malone
- Moses Malone
- Wynton Marsalis
- Thurgood Marshall
- Willie Mays
- Bob McAdoo
- Henry Cecil Ransom McBay
- Willie McCovey
- Elijah J. McCoy
- Hattie McDaniel
- Steve McNair
- Floyd McKissick
- Butterfly McQueen
- Carrie P. Meek
- James Meredith
- Kweisi Mfume
- Cheryl Miller
- Dorie Miller
- Charles Mingus
- Arthur Mitchell
- Parren Mitchell
- Mo'Nique
- Thelonious Monk
- Warren Moon
- Archie Moore
- Michael Moorer
- Garrett Augustus Morgan
- Joe Morgan
- Toni Morrison
- Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton
- Mos Def
- Edwin Moses
- Walter Mosley
- Marion Motley
- Robert Russa Moton
- Benjamin Franklin Muhammad
- Elijah Muhammad
- Calvin Murphy
- Eddie Murphy
- Eddie Murray
- Mya
- N
- O
- P
- Master P
- Alan Page
- Satchel Paige
- Charlie "Bird" Parker
- Gordon Parks
- Rosa Parks
- David Paterson
- Floyd Patterson
- Antwan Patton (Big Boi)
- Walter Payton
- Calvin Peete
- Teddy Pendergrass
- Ann Petry
- John L. Phillips
- P. B. S. Pinchback
- Jada Pinkett-Smith
- Horace Pippin
- Scottie Pippen
- Leonard Pitts, Jr.
- Homer Plessy
- Sidney Poitier
- Fritz Pollard
- Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
- Colin Powell
- Mike Powell
- Leontyne Price
- Prince
- Richard Pryor
- Gabriel Prosser
- Kirby Puckett
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- R
- Maurice F. Rabb, Jr.
- Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
- Joseph Rainey
- A. Philip Randolph
- Virginia Randolph
- Charles Rangel
- Otis Redding
- Willis Reed
- Irene Reid
- Gloria Reuben
- Hiram R. Revels
- Butch Reynolds
- Ving Rhames
- Condoleezza Rice
- Jerry Rice
- Pretty Ricky
- Norbert Rillieux
- Max Roache
- Oscar Robertson
- Paul Robeson
- David Robinson
- Eddie Robinson
- Frank Robinson
- Holly Robinson-Peete
- Jackie Robinson
- Smokey Robinson
- Sugar Ray Robinson
- Chris Rock
- Dennis Rodman
- Esther Rolle
- Howard E. Rollins, Jr.
- Lil' Romeo
- Diana Ross
- Carl Rowan
- Darius Rucker
- Wilma Rudolph
- Bobby Rush
- Bill Russell
- John Russwurm
- Bayard Rustin
- Busta Rhymes
- S
- Michael Sam
- Ignatius Sancho
- Barry Sanders
- Deion Sanders
- Augusta Christine Fells Savage
- Gale Sayers
- Dred Scott
- Seal
- Bobby Seale
- Myra C. Selby
- Betty Shabazz
- Tupac Shakur
- Ntozake Shange
- Fred Shuttlesworth
- Gabourey Sidibe
- Charlie Sifford
- Nina Simone
- O.J. Simpson
- Sinbad
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
- Robert Smalls
- Tavis Smiley
- Bessie Smith
- Emmitt Smith
- Lee Smith
- Ozzie Smith
- Will Smith
- Wesley Snipes
- Octavia Spencer
- Joel Elias Spingarn
- Leon Spinks
- Latrell Sprewell
- Willie Stargell
- C. K. (Charles Kenzie) Steele
- William Grant Still
- Carl B. Stokes
- Moorfield Storey
- Lynn Swann
- Howard Swanson
- Sheryl Swoopes
- Aaliyah–Ewing |
- Farmer–Innis |
- Jackson–Ludacris |
- Mac–Puckett |
- Rabb–Swoopes |
- Tanner–Van Der Zee
- T
- Henry Tanner
- Lawrence Taylor
- Mary Eliza Church Terrell
- Clarence Thomas
- Frank Thomas
- Isiah Thomas
- Thurman Thomas
- John Thompson
- Wallace Thurman
- Tone-Loc
- Jean Toomer
- Pierre Toussaint
- Virgil Garnett Trice, Jr.
- Sojourner Truth
- Harriet Tubman
- Chris Tucker
- Charles Henry Turner
- Ike Turner
- Tina Turner
- Nat Turner
- Cicely Tyson
- Mike Tyson
- Wyomia Tyus
- U
- V
- W
- Dwyane Wade
- Derek Walcott
- Jersey Joe Walcott
- Alice Walker
- Herschel Walker
- Maggie Lena (Mitchell) Walker
- Sarah "Madame C J Walker" Walker
- Thomas "Fats" Waller
- Quvenzhané Wallis
- Charlie Ward
- Booker T. Washington
- Denzel Washington
- Dinah Washington
- Harold Washington
- Maxine Waters
- Muddy Waters
- Faye Wattleton
- J. C. Watts
- Damon Wayans
- Keenan Ivory Wayans
- Carl Weathers
- Robert C. Weaver
- Junior Wells
- Ida B. Wells-Barnett
- Cornel West
- Dorothy West
- James West
- Kanye West
- Phyllis Wheatley
- Forest Whitaker
- Pernell Whitaker
- Bill White
- Reggie White
- Walter White
- John Edgar Wideman
- Lenny Wilkens
- Dominique Wilkins
- Roy Wilkins
- Daniel Hale Williams
- George Washington Williams
- Jayson Williams
- Peter Williams, Jr.
- Peter Williams, Sr.
- Serena Williams
- Vanessa Williams
- Venus Williams
- Fred Williamson
- John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson
- August Wilson
- Cassandra Wilson
- Flip Wilson
- Dave Winfield
- Paul Winfield
- Oprah Winfrey
- Howlin' Wolf
- Stevie Wonder
- Granville T. Woods
- Tiger Woods
- Carter G. Woodson
- Jacqueline Woodson
- Alfre Woodard
- Richard Wright
- Wu-Tang Clan
- X
- Y
- Z
- More from Black History Month
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