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Ermias Joseph “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom (August 15, 1985 - March 31, 2019) was a Grammy-nominated rapper and songwriter. He was born in Los Angeles to Dawit Asghedom and Angelique Smith. He got involved in gang life by joining the Crips at a young age. He attended Alexander Hamilton High School, which he dropped out of before graduating.

Determined to change his life, he began focusing on his music career. He adopted the name “Nipsey Hussle” from comedian Julius “Nipsey” Russell. He released his first mixtape called A Slauson Boy. He released other mixtapes such as Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, Vol. 1, Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, Vol. 2, and Bullets Ain’t Got No Name, Vol. 3. His other mixtapes included The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, Crenshaw, and Mailbox Money. He worked with hip-hop artists such as Drake, Y.G., Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Snoop Dogg. He had a brief acting career in films such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “I Tried,” Love Chronicles: Secrets Revealed, and Caged Animal.

In 2018, he released his only studio album called Victory Lap. That album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards. He was shot and killed outside a store that he owned called Marathon Clothing. Two other men, Kerry Lathan and his nephew, were wounded in the shooting.

Two days later, Eric Holder was arrested for his murder. Holder, who was a rapper and gang member himself, revealed that his motive in murdering him stemmed from an ongoing dispute he had with the rapper. Following his death, Blood and Crip gangs in Los Angeles, Compton, Watts, and Inglewood called a truce to honor his memory.

Ayo Tometi (August 15, 1984) is known as one of the three founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. She was born to Nigerian parents, grew up in Phoenix, and is the oldest of three children.

She graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in History and an MA in communication and advocacy. She volunteered for an American Civil Liberties Union project that monitored the actions of those who worked to keep illegal immigrants out of the US.

She worked as a leasing assistant and marketing manager for Cowen Commercial. She was a self-employed public relations specialist. She was a communications and outreach intern for Witness. She is an established writer, and her work has been featured in the Huffington Post.

She has worked for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. She organized the first Congressional briefing on Black immigrants in DC. She is now the Executive Director of BAJI.

She worked for the Drop the I-Word campaign, which raised awareness of how we discuss topics such as the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Diaspora. She is involved with Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, which helps Black activists develop their skills. She is a board member of the Puente Human Rights Movement. She was a founder of the Black-Brown Coalition of Arizona.

In 2013, she teamed up with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors to create the Black Lives Matter movement. This movement was sparked by the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Pastor Michael DeWayne McClure Jr. (August 15, 1983, in Birmingham, Alabama) known as Pastor Mike Jr., is a contemporary gospel singer, public speaker, and pastor. He is the founder of Rock City Church. Billboard said he is the first artist on the Gospel Airplay chart to have seven #1 songs, each of which appeared on four different charts.

Kobie Fuller (August 15, 1980) was born in Boston. He grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, and spent most of his early life there. He became interested in sports early on because of his competitive nature and participated in a variety of activities. When he was rejected from the basketball team in high school, he started participating in track and field. He continued to pursue sprinting at Harvard University. He had a successful sprinting career at Harvard, performing well in races and setting a new indoor school record in the 400. He set a time of 48.38, which still stands today. He was the co-captain of the team as well.

After graduating from Harvard with a BA in economics, he started working in various roles at private equity and digital marketing firms. At one of these, Revolve, one of the largest fashion internet commerce firms, he became the Chief Marketing Officer. He founded OpenView Venture Partners and was an early investor in Insight Venture Partners. Fuller invested early in Oculus and Exact Target.

He worked at Accel in 2013, a venture capital firm where he was an early investor. He left in 2016 to join Upfront Ventures, a venture capital firm located in Santa Monica, moving his family from Boston to Los Angeles so he could work on-site as a general partner. There, he was able to bring his expertise in enterprise SAAS and technologies such as VR and AR to good use.

Dr. Hakim J. Lucas (August 15, 1978) is a higher education executive, scholar, and thought leader. He serves as President of Virginia Union University, Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Union University Enterprises, and a tenured Professor of History.

VUU has grown its total enrollment to more than 2,000 students, with graduate enrollment exceeding 600, and has aligned nine new master’s programs. Retention has climbed to 90%, four-year graduation rates have increased to 40%, and graduating students earn an average GPA of 3.2, with average post-graduation earnings of $56,000.

VUU has raised more than $300 million in philanthropic support and investments, increased operational revenue by 50%, grown its endowment by 12%, and expanded total net assets by 30%.

VUU has earned remarkable national recognition, including the selection of the second Rhodes Scholar finalist in its history, two Fulbright Award–winning faculty members, and the first HBCU student-athlete to win the Harlon Hill Trophy. VUU also established the W. Franklyn Richardson Graduate Center, the first HBCU in New York. The University has risen from unranked to now ranking among the Top 40 HBCUs and Top 30 for Social Mobility by U.S. News & World Report, has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Colleges for Women 2026, and has received the Best Higher Education Firm of the Year – 2026 honor from Global 100.

He serves as editor of three major scholarly series on HBCUs with Emerald Publishing, Bloomsbury Academic, and Townsend Press.

He holds a BA in History from Morehouse College, an MA in Teaching from Tufts University, an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary, an MBA from Stetson University, and a Ph.D. in Education from Fordham University. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the NAACP, the Urban League, the Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons, the United Negro College Fund, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and the Southern Education Foundation.

Second Lieutenant Mayor Chris V. Rey (August 15, 1977) was born in St. Thomas, USVI, but grew up in Spring Lake, North Carolina. He attended East Carolina University on a full athletic scholarship.

He became President of Barber-Scotia College, effective July 17, 2023.

He enlisted in the Army as a computer information technology analyst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps through the Army Officer Candidate School. He saw deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His service and leadership in the armed forces earned him numerous military awards and accolades, including the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal.

In 2008, he was elected to the US Electoral College, where he cast the vote for President and Vice President. In 2011, he was elected the youngest Mayor of his hometown, Spring Lake, where he served three terms.

His leadership in Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. began in the fall of 1996 when he was initiated into the Xi Nu Chapter on the campus of East Carolina University. He has served as an undergraduate and graduate chapter president; International Director of Collegiate Affairs; International Director of Technology; 16th Southeastern Regional Director; faculty member of The Sigma Leadership Academy; International Director of Social Action; International First Vice President; and in 2021 was elected International President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. He has held the offices of International 2nd Vice President, International 1st Vice President, and International President.

He is the President and CEO of Capitol C2 Global Strategies, Inc. He has served as an adjunct professor, teaching classes on organizational leadership, business law, constitutional law, criminal law, juvenile justice, criminal courts, and cybercrimes.

He continues his military service as an officer in the National Guard, where he serves as the senior human resources officer for the Army Communications-Electronics Command.

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed (August 15, 1976) was born in Beshasha, Ethiopia. His father, Ahmed Ali, was a Muslim, and his mother, Tezeta Wolde, was a Christian. He joined the rebels fighting the Derg regime, which was controlling Ethiopia at the time.

After the Derg was overthrown in 1987, he joined the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and rose in the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel. He served as a peacekeeping officer for the UN in Rwanda (1995-97). He earned a BS in Computer Engineering.

He was made head of the Information Network Security Agency. He was elected to the House of People’s Representatives, the national legislature, to represent his home region. He earned an MS in Transformational Leadership and a second MA. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Addis Ababa University.

He was appointed Minister of Science and Technology in the Ethiopian government. In February 2018, he was elected Prime Minister by the House of People’s Representatives. He was the first member of the Oromo ethnic group to hold the position.

He embarked on radical changes in Ethiopia. Many people arrested for political reasons by the former regime were freed. He invited opposition figures in exile to return and encouraged foreign investment to boost economic growth. The first woman president, Sahle-Work Zewde, was appointed, and his cabinet was gender-balanced. He lifted restrictions on the media, encouraged a freer press, and fostered national unity while celebrating the diversity of Ethiopia’s many ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious groups.

He ended the 20-year war with neighboring Eritrea by accepting the results of a border mediation and meeting with the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki.

Dave Scott (August 15, 1972 - June 16, 2025) is a hip-hop dance teacher, choreographer, and talent developer. He gained widespread success as a choreographer in movies, primarily You Got Served and Step Up 2: The Streets. He is a resident choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and The PULSE on Tour dance convention.

He was born and raised in Compton, California. He is 6’4 and has never taken any dance classes or had any formal training. He started dancing as a hobby when he was 15. He learned to dance by watching musicals, b-boy movies, and music videos, particularly those of Michael Jackson, whom he cites as one of his influences. He acknowledges hip-hop dance pioneers Stefan “Mr. Wiggles” Clemente and Timothy “Popin’ Pete” Solomon as influences as well.

He developed his skills by forming his b-boy crew and battling other crews in his neighborhood. He attended Weber State University on a basketball scholarship where he earned an AA in business. He got his first professional dance job while in Utah by chance when he was asked to replace a dancer on a concert tour after being spotted dancing in a club. He returned to California and started his career by dancing on tours and in music videos.

Through tours and music videos, he built relationships in the dance community and moved into teaching classes and choreographing for film and television. He has worked with singers such as Ginuwine, B2K, Tyrese, Brian McKnight, Jon B, IMx, rapper Bow Wow, and Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski. He is the choreographer and co-creator of teen R&B group Mindless Behavior.

He co-choreographed the Ubisoft video game The Hip Hop Dance Experience with Laurieann Gibson and b-boy David “Kid David” Shreibman. He is a mentor/judge on Danceamatic.com.

Anthony Anderson (August 15, 1970) is an actor, comedian, and game show host. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows. He has starred in All About the Andersons and Black-ish. He is known for his leading roles in the drama series K-Ville, The Shield, and Law & Order. He had major roles in feature films such as Me, Myself & Irene, Kangaroo Jack, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, The Departed, Transformers, Life, and Scream 4.

He was born in Compton. His mother, Doris (née Hancox), was a telephone operator and actress, and his stepfather, Sterling Bowman, opened a chain of three clothing stores; he has a brother named Derrick Bowman. His nickname was “Tugga” because he could not pronounce sugar.

He is an alumnus of Hollywood High School and of Howard University, where he earned a BFA.

He is a regular judge on Iron Chef America. He has served as host of the game show To Tell the Truth. He has served as a guest panelist for various game shows.

His past television work includes a lead role in the teen series Hang Time. He had many one-off and guest roles on major series such as NYPD Blue, Malcolm & Eddie, In the House, and Ally McBeal. Recurring roles were on several series such as ‘Til Death and The Bernie Mac Show.

His series Eating America with Anthony Anderson featured him visiting different towns in America that host “food festivals” highlighting a specific type of food. He is a regular judge on Iron Chef America. In the Ultimate Bar Food battle, he served as bartender/sous-chef.

Attorney Lonna Romaine Hooks (1959) is an attorney and the first Black Secretary of State for New Jersey. She was born and raised in Nashville. Her father was head of the art department at Fisk University, and the Hooks family lived on campus. While attending her local high school in Nashville, she took a public affairs course and worked at a local TV station, writing about “hot topics.”

She attended Howard University, earning her BA and her JD from Howard University School of Law. She first worked as a clerk for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals before becoming a lawyer for Schering-Plough, a pharmaceutical company located in Kenilworth, New Jersey. She was in a car accident that left her with extensive injuries that required months of physical therapy. After that, she relocated to Montclair, New Jersey, and started a home-based private practice law firm.

Mayor William H. Herrington (August 15, 1950) the first African American Mayor of Lawrenceville, Virginia, was born in Hartsville, South Carolina to Henry Herrington, a transportation worker from Darlington County, and Carrie Boyd Herrington, a housekeeper from Chester County, South Carolina.

He graduated from Butler High School, Hartsville, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He was a member of the South Carolina 1968 Triple-A Championship Basketball Team. He enrolled in Saint Paul’s College, where he pledged the Epsilon Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He married Brenda Reese (1971), a project manager from Kenbridge, Virginia. He was the captain of the tennis team. He received a BA in History.

He earned his JD from Howard University School of Law. He graduated from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Herrington became a member of the DC Bar Association and the Virginia Bar Association.

He practiced law in both public and private arenas. He served as a trial attorney for OSHA and Lee and Harvey and as a senior trial attorney for Brown, Brown, and Brown. He was named vice president for institutional advancement and director of admissions at Saint Paul’s College.

In 2014, he became the mayor of Lawrenceville. He supported early childhood education and established the “Mayor’s Pre-K Book Club,” which earned the Virginia Municipal League “Stairway to Success” statewide award. He advocated for children and education by encouraging students to participate in the VML “If I Were Mayor” Essay Contest. He revived the local farmers’ market, established a community wellness committee, and brought multiple health-related events to the community. He was instrumental in bringing the first Remote Area Medical clinic to the region, which provides medical services to residents of impoverished, isolated, and underserved areas.

Mayor Elihu Mason Harris (August 15, 1947) is a retired politician and college administrator. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 46th Mayor of Oakland (1991-99) and for 12 years (1978–90) as a member of the California State Assembly. He was the Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District (2004-10).

Born in Los Angeles, he moved to Berkeley as a child and graduated from Berkeley High School.

He earned a BA in Political Science from California State University, Hayward, where he served as student body vice president. He received an MA in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a JD from UC Davis School of Law. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

He has served as a California Uniform Law Commissioner since 1981. He co-owned Oakland radio station KDIA. He co-owned Fresno radio station KFIG.

He ran in a 1999 special election in hopes of regaining the California State Assembly seat he had held but lost to a Green Party challenger.

His legacy in Oakland includes the naming of the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building after him.

Eugene Josiah Upshaw Jr. (August 15, 1945 – August 20, 2008) known as “Uptown Gene” and “Highway 63,” was a professional football player for the Oakland Raiders of the AFL and later the NFL. He served as the executive director of the NFLPA. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the first player in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in three different decades with the same team.

He was born in Robstown, Texas, and graduated from Robstown High School. He played college football at Texas A&I University. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He married Jimmye Lee Hill-Upshaw. Together, they had one son, Eugene Upshaw III, and divorced.

He has played in three AFL Championship Games, seven American Football Conference title games, one AFL All-Star game, and six NFL Pro Bowls. The Sporting News selected him to the 1969 AFL All-League team.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1996, he was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Attorney Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was a business executive and civil rights activist who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.

He has become known as an influential figure in American politics.

He was born in Atlanta to Mary Belle (Griggs) and Vernon E. Jordan Sr. He had a brother, Windsor. He was a cousin of James Shaw, a musician who is professionally billed as The Mighty Hannibal.

He grew up with his family in the segregated societal cosmos of Atlanta. He was an honors graduate of David T. Howard High School. Rejected for a summer internship with an insurance company after his sophomore year in college because of his race, he earned money for college for a few summers by working as a chauffeur to former city mayor Robert Maddox, then a banker. He graduated from DePauw University. He earned a JD at Howard University School of Law. He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternities.

He returned to Atlanta to join the law office of Donald L. Hollowell, a civil rights activist. The firm, including Constance Motley, sued the University of Georgia for racial discrimination in its admission policies. The suit ended with a Federal Court order demanding the admission of two African Americans, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton E. Holmes.

He became directly involved in activism in the field, serving as the NAACP’s Georgia field director. From the NAACP, he moved to the Southern Regional Council and then to the Voter Education Project.

He became the executive director of the UNCF. He was president of the NUL.

Congresswoman Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr, August 15, 1938) is a politician serving as the Representative for California’s 43rd congressional district since 1991. The district, numbered as the 29th district (1991–93) and the 35th district (1993-2013), includes much of southern Los Angeles, as well as portions of Gardena, Inglewood, and Torrance.

A member of the Democratic Party, she is serving her 17th term in the House. She is the most senior African American woman serving in Congress and chaired the Congressional Black Caucus (1997-99). She is the second-most senior member of the California congressional delegation, after Nancy Pelosi. She chairs the House Financial Services Committee.

Before becoming a Representative, she served in the California State Assembly, to which she was first elected in 1976. As an assemblywoman, she advocated divestment from South Africa’s apartheid regime. In Congress, she was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and has sharply criticized Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

She was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018.

She was born in St. Louis, the daughter of Remus Carr and Velma Lee (née Moore). The fifth of 13 children, she was raised by her single mother after her father left the family when she was two. She graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis before moving with her family to Los Angeles. She worked in a garment factory and as a telephone operator before being hired as an assistant teacher with the Head Start program in Watts. She enrolled at Los Angeles State College, where she received a BA in sociology.

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a jazz pianist, virtuoso, and composer. He was called the “Maharaja of the keyboard” by Duke Ellington, simply “O.P.” by his friends, and, in the jazz community, “the King of inside swing.” He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honors. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists and has performed thousands of concerts worldwide over a career spanning more than 60 years.

He was born in Montreal, Quebec, to immigrants from the West Indies. His mother, Kathleen, was a domestic worker; his father, Daniel, worked as a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway and was an amateur musician who taught himself to play the organ, trumpet, and piano.

But he was captivated by traditional jazz and boogie-woogie and learned several ragtime pieces. He was called “the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie”.

Mayor Clarence Everett Lightner (August 15, 1921 - July 8, 2002) the first popularly elected mayor of Raleigh and the first African American elected mayor of a metropolitan Southern city, was born to Mammie Blackmon and Calvin E. Lightner in Raleigh. His father, Calvin, founded the Lightner Funeral Home.

He graduated from North Carolina Central College and attended the Echols College of Mortuary Science in Pennsylvania to continue working in his father’s business. While at North Carolina Central, he was a star athlete and was inducted into the NCCU Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternities, and he served in the Army for three years during WWII.

He was one of the first African Americans elected to political office. He promoted his business and community leadership as qualifications for a seat on the Raleigh City Council, which he won. He served on the City Council (1967-73). He was elected mayor. He became a charter member of the Southern Conference of Black Mayors.

His election drew some national attention because only 16% of the registered voters in Raleigh were Black; it was indeed rare for a majority of Southern white voters to elect an African American to any office. His race was hardly mentioned in the campaign.

North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt appointed him to replace state Senator John Winters. He served out the rest of his term, which amounted to about a year.

He served as chairman of the Board of Trustees at Saint Augustine’s College and as a member of the Board of Trustees at North Carolina Central University for ten years.

He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Shaw University, Saint Augustine’s College, and North Carolina Central University.