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“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him, perhaps reach out for him, and find him, though he is not far from any of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts‬ ‭17:26-28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Attorney Laura Gayle Coates (July 11, 1979) is a

legal analyst, attorney, and television broadcaster. She served as a trial attorney for the law firms Faegre & Benson and Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, and a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Since 2016, she has served as a legal analyst for CNN and became the network’s chief legal analyst in 2023.[She has hosted a nightly news discussion TV program, Laura Coates Live.

She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, until the fourth grade, when her family moved to Minnesota. She is the youngest of three sisters. Her father was a dentist. She graduated from the St. Paul Academy and Summit School. She graduated with an AB from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs after completing a 122-page senior thesis titled “The Legacy of Southern Redemption: An Examination of Felon Disenfranchisement Policy” under the supervision of Russ Nieli.

She received a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.

She was a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, specializing in enforcing voting rights nationwide. She was an assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia. She is not currently a practicing attorney and is on inactive status with the Office of Lawyer Registration at the Minnesota Supreme Court.

She has written features and provided research for major publications such as The Washington Post and the Boston Herald. Her first published book was a legal guide entitled You Have the Right: A Constitutional Guide to Policing the Police. Her second book is Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness.

She is an adjunct law professor at George Washington University School of Law and speaks across the country on civil rights, social justice, economic empowerment, and other topics.

Antwon Rose Jr. (July 12, 2000 - June 19, 2018) was an honor student who was shot and killed by a police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as he was running from a traffic stop following a separate shooting.

He was born to Michelle Kenney and Antwon Rose Sr. He played basketball and the saxophone. The superintendent described him as an “excellent student” who took AP classes. He coached children in after-school classes at the Pittsburgh Gymnastics Club, and he volunteered at the Free Store, which provides surplus and donated items to those in need.

Officers responded to several 911 calls of a drive-by shooting in North Braddock. Multiple shots had been fired from a passing vehicle witnesses described as a silver Chevy Cruze. A 22-year-old man named William Ross sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound in the abdomen and fired back at the vehicle, resulting in a shattered window. Officers spotted and pulled over a vehicle matching that description. He and Zaijuan Hester exited the vehicle and began fleeing the scene. Officer Michael Rosfeld fired his service weapon three times, striking him in the back, face, and elbow. He was transported to a hospital where he died.

He was unarmed, though investigators later determined there were two guns in the vehicle. Hester pleaded guilty to shooting and was sentenced to up to twenty-two years in prison.

A bystander filmed the incident, and the video was posted to social media. The shooting resulted in demonstrations over the next few days. Protesters blocked an interstate highway and gathered outside the East Pittsburgh Police Department and the Allegheny County Courthouse, where they demanded the officer be held to account.

Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide but was acquitted by a jury. He testified in his defense, stating that he believed one of the fleeing teenagers- he wasn’t certain which one- pointed a gun at him, and he fired his weapon in response.

Jason Gomillion Wright (July 12, 1982) is a business consultant and the former president of the Washington Commanders of the NFL. He led their business operations, financing, and marketing strategies. The move made him the first African American president of an NFL team in history, as well as the youngest active one at the time of his hiring. He is only the fourth former player to be president of an NFL team. He helped lead the franchise through its 2022 rebranding to the Commanders.

He was born to Sam and Susan Wright in Upland, California. He attended Diamond Bar High School, where he lettered in football and track. He enrolled at Northwestern University and played for the Northwestern Wildcats football team, originally as a wide receiver before switching to running back. He was named co-MVP of the 2003 Motor City Bowl after rushing for 237 yards on 21 carries and was named to the 2003 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

He graduated with a BA in Psychology while taking the MCAT. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and was president of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, being named the inaugural recipient of the Bobby Bowden Award.

He went undrafted following graduation and was a member of the 49ers before serving as a backup running back for the Falcons, Browns, and Cardinals. He served as a team captain for the Arizona Cardinals and was their NFLPA representative during the 2011 NFL lockout before retiring that year.

He finished his career with 32 touchdowns on 487 carries and 577 yards and two touchdowns on 54 receptions. He returned 31 kickoffs for 828 yards and a touchdown. He left as Northwestern’s fourth all-time leading rusher with 2,625 yards, the third all-purpose yards leader with 4,030 yards, and the fourth leading scorer with 210 points.

He graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA in Operations and Finance. He worked for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he advised companies on organizational culture and the workplace.

Tracie Monique Spencer (July 12, 1976) is a singer-songwriter. She won the junior vocalist competition on Star Search. She signed a contract with Capitol Records, at the time the youngest female artist to do so. She gained attention for her R&B and pop singles “Symptoms of True Love” (1988), “This House” (1990), “Tender Kisses” (1991), and “It’s All About You (Not About Me)” (1999).

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, to Theresa (née Williams) and Marvin E. Spencer Sr., she has three siblings. She is related to Beyoncé. She attended Columbus High School, where she was an honor student and basketball player.

Her self-titled debut album, released on January 16, 1988, produced the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop-charting singles “Hide and Seek”, “Symptoms of True Love”, and her remake of “Imagine”.

Her second album, Make the Difference, was released on August 27, 1990. The first single, “Save Your Love”, was her first to reach the Top 10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, reaching #7. Her following single, “This House”, reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single “Tender Kisses” hit #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and made her the youngest female artist to receive the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award. “This Time Make It Funky” and “Love Me” charted on both the Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. She recorded the follow-up to Make the Difference and was set to release what would have been her third studio album, titled Naturelle. Capitol Records shelved it.

Lisa Nicole Carson (July 12, 1969) is an actress. She is known for her supporting roles as Carla in ER and as Renee Raddick in Ally McBeal. She has starred in films, most notably as Marti in Jason’s Lyric, Coretta in Devil in a Blue Dress, Josie in Love Jones, and Sylvia in Life.

She reprised her role as Renee Raddick in the final episode of Harry’s Law. She starred as Mae Bell in the miniseries The New Edition Story.

She was born in Brooklyn; her father is a journalism professor at the University of Florida, and her mother was a kindergarten teacher in New York. She spent her adolescence in Gainesville and attended F. W. Buchholz High School. Her parents separated when she was 14, and her mother moved back to New York alone. In 1986, she entered the Regional competition sponsored by the “America’s Junior Miss” talent show, taking second place in the Gainesville Regional. After graduating, she returned to New York and decided to become an actor. She began her career by appearing in several after-school specials and short films.

She appeared in productions at the famed Negro Ensemble Company. Her first notable credit came in 1991, when she appeared in Law & Order, and in 1992 she had a minor, non-speaking role in The Cosby Show. She was a regular on The Apollo Comedy Hour before appearing in Let’s Get Bizzee and Eve’s Bayou. She performed as an R&B singer in Divas.

Natalie Ann Desselle-Reid (July 12, 1967 – December 7, 2020) was an actress who performed in several films, including B.A.P.S., Def Jam’s How to Be a Player, Set It Off, and Cinderella, and the television series Built to Last, For Your Love, and Eve.

She was one of four children born to Thelma Lee and Paul Desselle Jr. in Alexandria, Louisiana. She attended Peabody Magnet High School. She attended Grambling State University.

At Grambling, she developed a deep interest in theatre and appeared in several productions. She began her acting career in 1996 with the movie Set It Off. She was the evil step-sister Minerva in the made-for-television version of Cinderella. She starred in many films, including Madea’s Big Happy Family, and guest-starred in Family Matters. She appeared in Ya Killin’ Me.

She married Leonard Reid (2003), and they had three children.

President Luis Abinader (July 12, 1967) the 54th and current president of the Dominican Republic, was born in Santo Domingo. His parents were José Rafael Abinader Wassef and Rosa Sula Corona Caba. His grandfather emigrated from Lebanon, and his mother’s ancestors were from the Canary Islands.

He attended school in Santo Domingo. He attended the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology, graduating with a BA in economics. He did post-graduate studies in project management at Hult International Business School. He studied corporate finance and financial engineering at Harvard University and advanced management at Dartmouth College.

He is part of a family with extensive business holdings in the Dominican Republic, including hotels. He served as executive president of the ABICOR Group, which has developed and operated important tourism projects throughout the nation. He has served as president of the Hotel Association of Sousa and Caberete.

He was elected vice president of the Dominican Revolutionary Party. In the 2012 presidential election, he was the vice-presidential candidate on the unsuccessful Dominican Revolutionary Party national ticket. In 2016, he was the presidential candidate of the Dominican Humanist Party and the Dominican Liberation Party. He did not win.

In the 2020 presidential election. He won the presidency with 52.5% of the votes cast. He is the first Dominican president born after the Trujillo dictatorship and the second of Lebanese descent. His administration intends to combat corruption and to build strong economic and political ties with the US and other conservative governments in Central and South America. He promised to stop illegal immigration into the Dominican Republic. His administration began building a separation wall along the nation’s western border with Haiti.

Admiral Alvin Holsey (July 12, 1965) is a retired Navy admiral and naval aviator who served as the commander of United States Southern Command from November 2024 to December 2025. He served as military deputy commander of the United States Southern Command from 2023 to 2024. He was commander of the Navy Personnel Command and Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel from 2021 to 2022. His command assignments also include leading Carrier Strike Group 1 from 2018 to 2020 and serving as commanding officer of the U.S. Navy’s first hybrid-electric propulsion warship, USS Makin Island (LHD-8), from 2013 to 2014, after acting as its executive officer from February 2012.

A native of Fort Valley, Georgia, he was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Morehouse College in 1988, where he received a BS in Computer Science and joined Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He earned an MS in Management from Troy State University and attended the Joint Forces Staff College.

In September 2022, he was nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as the military deputy commander of US Southern Command. In July 2024, he was nominated for promotion to admiral and assignment as commander of the United States Southern Command, a post that typically lasts three years.

Shaun Robinson (July 12, 1962) is a television host, author, producer, philanthropist, television personality, and actress. She is known for hosting Access Hollywood (1999–2015) and 90 Day Fiancé and its spin-offs (2016–present). Her accolades include an Emmy Award for her live coverage of A Grand Night in Harlem for the Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

She was born in Detroit. She has a brother and two sisters. She is a graduate of Cass Technical High School. She attended Spelman College.

Her career began in Detroit at WGPR-TV (now WWJ-TV), the first African American-owned television station in the US. She was a medical reporter and weekend anchor for WISN-TV in Milwaukee, where her series on women and cancer garnered her an Associated Press award. She served as host of the daily talk show Milwaukee’s Talking. She joined KEYE-TV in Austin as a reporter and anchor, where her series “Profiles in Power”, focusing on women who made an impact in Central Texas, earned her an American Women in Radio and Television award.

She was a reporter and anchor for WSVN-TV in Miami. She anchored coverage of both the Clinton impeachment hearings and Hurricane George. She traveled to Oklahoma to profile survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing. She filled in for Meredith Vieira on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. She has contributed reports to television shows NBC Nightly News and Today.

She was a guest star on a celebrity edition episode of the game show Don’t Forget the Lyrics. She played and won $10,000 for her selected charity, Girls, Inc. She co-hosted the NBC coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade. She has provided coverage for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, the Emmy Awards, and the Grammy Awards. She landed the role of Kris Kensington on Games People Play. Forbes published an article about her as part of the magazine’s ongoing series “The Secrets of Successful Women.”

Her first book, titled Exactly As I Am: Celebrated Women Share Candid Advice with Today’s Girls on What It Takes to Believe in Yourself, was published.

Rolonda Watts (July 12, 1959) is an actress, producer, voice-over artist, novelist, motivational speaker, and television and radio talk show host. She is known for hosting the eponymous talk show Rolonda, which was internationally syndicated. She was the on-camera announcer for Judge Joe Brown. She is the on-camera announcer for Divorce Court.

Her mother, Velma Gibson Watts, was an associate dean at Wake Forest University, and her father, Roland Watts, was chairman of Winston-Salem State University’s Fine Arts Department. She attended Salem Academy as a teenager.

She is a graduate of Spelman College, where she was editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and graduated magna cum laude. She earned an MA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Charles Quinton Murphy (July 12, 1959 – April 12, 2017) was an actor, comedian, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of the Comedy Central sketch-comedy series Chappelle’s Show, and the co-star of the sitcom Black Jesus. He was the brother of comedian Eddie Murphy.

He was born in Brooklyn. His mother, Lillian Murphy, was a telephone operator, and his father, Charles Edward Murphy, was a transit police officer, actor, and comedian.

He enlisted in the Navy and served for six years as a boiler technician. He had minor roles in several films and worked behind the scenes with the hip-hop group K-9 Posse. On their self-titled debut, he was credited as the album’s executive producer as well as a songwriter on the songs “Somebody’s Brother” and “Say Who Say What.” He made an appearance in the video for the duo’s first single “This Beat Is Military.” His first major role in a motion picture was in the film CB4.

He gained national attention as a recurring performer on Chappelle’s Show, particularly in Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories sketches. He recounts his misadventures as part of his brother’s entourage, including encounters with various celebrities such as Rick James and Prince. He and Donnell Rawlings hosted the “lost episodes” compiled from sketches produced before Chappelle’s departure.

He appeared in King’s Ransom. He did voiceovers for Budweiser radio commercials, provided the voice for Iraq War veteran/criminal Ed Wuncler III on The Boondocks, and was the voice for a pimp named Jizzy-B in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. He provided the voice for Spock in the Star Trek 2.0 shorts and for the dog in the film Norbit.

Attorney Willie Edward Gary (July 12, 1947) was born in Eastman, Georgia. He is the son of Turner (a sharecropper) and Mary Gary. He attended Shaw University on a football scholarship, graduating in 1971. He earned his JD from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

He was born in Eastman, Georgia; he is one of eleven children and the son of Turner, a sharecropper, and Mary Gary. With his father’s backing, he attended school for two half days a week and farmed with his family the other three days. At 13, he supported his family by establishing a lawn service.

He is an attorney and has won a $240 million verdict against Disney for stealing the concept behind the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. He won a $500 million verdict in a contract dispute against the Loewen Funeral Company led by Raymond Loewen in Jackson. The Loewen Funeral Company case is set to become a movie starring Jamie Foxx.

In 2019, a $23 billion case he won against R.J. Reynolds was overturned on appeal. The case stemmed from the death of Michael Johnson of Escambia County, Florida, in 1996, who died from lung cancer.

The General Assembly of the State of South Carolina recognized him as one of the US’s most respected and accomplished lawyers.

In 2019, the American Bar Association awarded him the Spirit of Excellence award at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He is listed as one of the richest lawyers in the world.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the NAACP.

Donna Denise Nicholas (July 12, 1944) spent over thirty years as a television actor before embarking on a career as a writer. She made her greatest mark as a television actress, most notably in the hit shows Room 222 (1969-74) and In the Heat of the Night (1988-95).

She was born in Detroit to Louise and Otto Nicholas. She enrolled at the University of Michigan but withdrew in her sophomore year to join the Free Southern Theater in Mississippi at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

She became a member of the Negro Ensemble Company. She was tapped to play Liz McIntyre in Room 222, and she received two Golden Globe nominations.

She had supporting roles in Blacula (1972) and The Soul of Nigger Charley (1975). She appeared in Let’s Do It Again (1975) and A Piece of the Action (1977). She made dozens of guest appearances on Rhoda (1975), The Paper Chase (1979), Diff’rent Strokes (1980), The Love Boat (1980-82), and The Cosby Show (1989).

She married Gilbert Moses, the co-founder of the Free Southern Theater (1964-65), Bill Withers (1973-74), and Jim Hill, the NFL player-turned-sportscaster (1981-84).

Lieutenant Emmit Jerome McHenry (July 12, 1943) was born in Forrest City, Arkansas. He is an entrepreneur and company builder.

He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, attending Stewart Elementary School, Carver Middle School, and Booker T. Washington High School. He received his BS in Communications from the University of Denver. He enlisted in the Marines, where he attained the rank of lieutenant. He earned his MS in Communications from Northwestern University. He started as an IBM Systems Engineer and served as Assistant Dean and Instructor at Northwestern University.

With Gary Desler, Ty Grigsby, and Ed Peters, he founded his first full-time entrepreneurial venture: Network Solutions. The company commercialized the TCP/IP protocol for interoperability across packet-switched computer networks and later became the manager of the DNS registry, granting “.com” registrations. He has been a part of founding several companies.

His accolades include an Honorary Doctorate from Shaw University, the Marine Corps Sunset Parade Guest of Honor for his contributions to the nation’s C4 Capacity, and the Chairman’s Award from the HBCU Foundation.

Maria Beatriz do Nascimento (July 12, 1942 – January 28, 1995) was an academic and activist. She was an influential participant in the Black Movement in Brazil. She evaluated the importance of quilombos as autonomous spaces for people of African descent during the colonial period and challenged the government’s political environment and racial policies toward Afro-Brazilians. Her scholarship on the invisibility of African women, particularly non-Anglo women of the African diaspora, had an international impact on research into the complexities of the African experience and the lack of attention to Afro-Latinas in transnational feminism.

She enrolled at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and graduated with a BA in history. She became involved in the Black Movement in Brazil. She was a co-founder of several associations and attended numerous conferences and public forum discussions on blackness and racial politics.

Donald Ulysses Walden (July 12, 1938 - April 6, 2009) was born to Gracie Buck and Louis Walden. The family lived in Clarksville, Tennessee (1938-46). His mother took him to see bands that toured the South. After seeing the Silas Green Band from New Orleans, a popular band of the era, he decided that he wanted to become a “stand-up saxophone player.”

In 1946, they migrated to Detroit. He started playing the saxophone around age 15, studying at the Larry Teal School of Music and Detroit Community Music School. While attending Chadsey High School, he met pianist Barry Harris and saxophonist Yusef Lateef. His peers included drummer Roy Brooks, alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, and trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer.

He followed many Detroit musicians to New York during the “Loft Movement.” He played in Aretha Franklin’s band and is credited on her album, Aretha in Paris. Walden toured with Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and The Four Tops.

He created the original Detroit Jazz Orchestra, which included a 16-piece string section and which received much national critical acclaim. He received the Michigan Governor’s Art Award, and he became only the sixth Detroit musician to receive the Jazz Master Award from Arts Midwest. Other accolades of note include the Legends of Jazz International Hall of Fame Award and the Alain Locke Award.

His most influential recording was “Yardbird Suite,” which he released in 1990. “Yardbird Suite” brought together a big band with 18 strings and a 30-voice choir, featuring conductor Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and soloist Dizzy Gillespie. He produced three independent albums: A Portrait of You (1992), A Monk & A Mingus Among Us (1998), and Focus: The Music of Tadd Dameron (2003). As a jazz educator, he taught at the Center for Creative Studies, Michigan State University, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Michigan.