Archive
May 2020
Scatman Crothers
Actor, Dancer, Singer, & Musician
Ethel Johnson
Professional Wrestling Athlete
Flip Wilson
Actor & Comedian
April 2020
Rocky Johnson
Professional Wrestling Athlete
Kelly Jo Minter
Actor
Lou Rawls
Singer, Songwriter, Actor, & Producer
March 2020
Richard Allen
Minister, Educator, & Writer
Josiah Henson
Author, Abolitionist, & Minister
Junior Wells
Blues Vocalist & Harmonica Player
February 2020
Hawthorne James
Actor & Director
Jenifer Lewis
Actor, Singer, & Activist
Rosetta Sharpe
Singer, Songwriter, & Guitarist
January 2020
Heavy D and The Boyz
Hip-Hop Recording Group
Salt ‘n Pepa
Hip-Hop Recording Group
The Temptations
R&B/Soul Music Group
December 2019
Digital Underground
Hip-Hop Recording Group
EPMD
Hip-Hop Recording Group
Gap Band
R&B/Funk Music Group
November 2019
James Armistead Lafayette
Spy
Crispus Attucks
Civil Rights Activist & Dock Worker
Alfre Woodard
Actor, Political Activist, & Producer
October 2019
Carol Moseley Braun
Diplomat, Politician, & Lawyer
James Earl Jones
Actor
Pharoah Sanders
Musician, Composer, & Bandleader
September 2019
Geoffrey Holder
Actor & Choreographer
‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard
Professional Boxing Athlete, Motivational Speaker, & Actor
Esther Rolle
Actor & Singer
August 2019
Matthew Henson
Explorer
Donna Summer
Singer & Songwriter
Mary Wells
Singer
July 2019
Jay Hawkins
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Actor, Film Producer, & Boxer
Danitra Vance
Actor & Comedian
Jimmie Walker
Actor & Comedian
June 2019
Mum Bett
Civil Rights Activist, Midwife, Herbalist, & Servant
Riddick Bowe
Professional Boxing Athlete
Herbie Hancock
Pianist, Keyboardist, Bandleader, Composer, & Actor
May 2019
Mae Jemison
Scientist, Astronaut, & Doctor
Audre Lorde
Poet
RuPaul
Television Personality & Singer
April 2019
Ernie Davis
Football Athlete
Marvin Hagler
Professional Boxing Athlete
Alice Walker
Author & Civil/Women's Rights Activist
March 2019
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Author
Martin Lawrence
Actor & Comedian
Wynton Marsalis
Songwriter & Trumpet Player
February 2019
Pat Cleveland
Model
Ron O’Neal
Actor, Director, & Screenwriter
Mike Tyson
Professional Boxing Athlete & Actor
January 2019
Kid ‘N Play
Hip-Hop Recording Group
Nona Hendryx
Singer, Producer, Songwriter, Musician, Author, & Actor
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Actor, Singer, Author, & Activist
December 2018
George Clinton
Singer, Songwriter, Bandleader, & Producer
Nichelle Nichols
Producer, Actor, & Singer
Desmond Tutu
Archbishop, Civil Rights Activist, & Educator
November 2018
Oprah Winfrey
Philanthropist, Producer, Talk Show Host, & Actor
Yaphet Kotto
Actor
Wesley Snipes
Actor, Director, Producer, Martial Artist, & Author
October 2018
Obba Babatunde
Actor
Jack Johnson
Professional Boxing Athlete
Phylicia Rashad
Actor
September 2018
Muhammad Ali
Professional Boxing Athlete
Joe Frazier
Professional Boxing Athlete
Delroy Lindo
Actor
August 2018
Wilt Chamberlain
Professional Basketball Athlete & Actor
Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Professional Basketball Athlete & Actor
Bill Russell
Professional Basketball Athlete
July 2018
David Dinkins
Professor & Mayor
Coretta Scott King
Writer, Women's Rights Activist, & Civil Rights Activist
Nancy Wilson
Television Personality & Singer
June 2018
Henry Ossian Flipper
Military Leader
Evander Holyfield
Professional Boxing Athlete
Fela Kuti
Songwriter, Pianist, Civil Rights Activist, & Drummer
May 2018
Bernie Casey
Actor, Poet, & Professional Football Athlete
Ron Glass
Actor
Sade
Singer & Songwriter
April 2018
Michael Clarke Duncan
Actor
Grace Jones
Model, Actor, & Singer
Naughty By Nature
Hip-Hop Recording Group
March 2018
The Isley Brothers
R&B & Soul Music Group
Paul Mooney
Comedian, Writer, Social Critic, & Actor
Tina Turner
Actor & Singer
February 2018
Billy Dee Williams
Actor, Artist, & Singer
Chris Tucker
Comedian & Actor
Cicely Tyson
Actor
January 2018
Antonio Fargas
Actor
Arsenio Hall
Actor, Comedian, & Talk Show Host
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Pastor, Author & Filmmaker
Nov. - December 2017
Morgan Freeman
Actor, Director, Narrator, & Producer
Florence Griffith Joyner
Track & Field Athlete
NWA
Hip-Hop Recording Group
Chris Rock
Comedian, Director, Producer, & Actor
October 2017
Lavar Burton
Director, Actor, Producer, & Television Personality
Earth, Wind & Fire
Funk/Soul/R&B Music Group
Thelonious Monk
Pianist & Songwriter
September 2017
John Coltrane
Composer, Saxophonist, & Musician
MC Lyte
Hip-Hop Recording Artist, Actor, DJ, & Model
Peter Tosh
Musician & Singer
August 2017
Babyface
Singer, Guitarist, Producer, & Songwriter
Gwen Ifill
Journalist & News Anchor
George Wallace
Comedian & Actor
July 2017
George Foreman
Professional Boxing Athlete & Minister
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson
Professional Basketball Athlete
Keenan Ivory Wayans
Actor, Comedian, Producer, & Director
June 2017
Bernie Mac
Comedian & Actor
Miriam Makeba
Singer & Civil Rights Activist
Diana Ross
Singer & Actor
May 2017
Freddie Jackson
Singer
Nipsey Russell
Comedian & Actor
John Witherspoon
Comedian & Actor
April 2017
Whoopi Goldberg
Comedian, Actor, & Talk Show Host
Michael Jordan
Professional Basketball Player & Businessman
Jackie Joyner Kersee
Track & Field Athlete
March 2017
Chuck Berry
Guitarist, Singer, & Songwriter
Dick Gregory
Author, Civil Rights Activist, Comedian, & Entrepreneur
Eddie Murphy
Actor, Director, & Comedian
February 2017
Count Basie
Pianist & Songwriter
Moms Mabley
Comedian
The Miracles
R&B Music Group
January 2017
Bob Beamon
Track & Field Athlete
Ralph Ellison
Academic, Author, Educator, & Literary Critic
Gladys Knight & The Pips
R&B & Soul Music Group
Barry White
Music Producer & Singer
Nov. - December 2016
Guion Bluford
Astronaut, Pilot, & Scientist
Diahann Carroll
Actor & Singer
Nat King Cole
Actor, Pianist, Singer, & Television Personality
October 2016
Rod Carew
Coach & Professional Baseball Athlete
Sam Cooke
Singer, Songwriter, & Entrepreneur
Cynthia Mckinney
Civil Rights Activist & U.S. Representative
September 2016
Death
Punk/Garage Band
Patrice O'Neal
Actor, Comedian, & Radio Personality
Richard Roundtree
Actor
July 2016 - August 2016
Julian Bond
Government Official, Educator, & Civil Rights Activist
Duke Ellington
Pianist, Conductor, & Songwriter
Issac Hayes
Actor, Musician, & Singer
May - June 2016
Wally Amos
Entrepreneur
Ella Baker
Civil Rights Activist
Run DMC
Hip-Hop Recording Group
March - April 2016
Dorothy Height
Civil Rights Activist & Women's Rights Activist
Jimi Hendrix
Guitarist, Songwriter, & Singer
Bob Marley
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, & Guitarist
January - February 2016
Arthur Ashe
Professional Tennis Player & Activist
Betty Shabazz
Civil Rights Activist, Nurse & Educator
Bobby Womack
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Producer, Instrumentalist, & Sideman
Nov. - December 2015
Aaliyah
Actor & Singer
Julius Erving
Professional Basketball Athlete
Sept. - October 2015
Grandmaster Caz
DJ, Singer, Songwriter, & MC
Ray Charles
Pianist, Songwriter, Composer, Arranger, & Singer
Whitney Young, Jr.
Civil Rights Activist
August 2015
Gwendolyn Brooks
Poet & Teacher
Jim Brown
Professional Football Athlete & Actor
Marvin Gaye
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Producer, & Composer
July 2015
Amiri Baraka
Actor, Teacher, Director, Producer, Writer, Activist, & Poet
Ruby Dee
Actor, Screenwriter, Civil Rights Activist, Poet, & Playwright
Janet Jackson
Producer, Dancer, & Singer
June 2015
Jim Kelly
Martial Artist, Actor, & Athletic Instructor
Bayard Rustin
Civil Rights Activist
Stevie Wonder
Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Producer, & Multi-Instrumentalist
May 2015
Curtis Mayfield
Singer
Queen Latifah
Singer, Songwriter, Hip-Hop Recording Artist, Actor, Model, Comedian, & Talk Show Host
Rakim
Hip-Hop Recording Artist
A. Phillip Randolph
Civil Rights Activist
April 2015
Afrika Bambaataa
DJ, Producer, & Activist
Whitney Houston
Singer & Actor
Barbara Jordan
Civil Rights Activist & U.S. Representative
March 2015
Redd Foxx
Actor & Comedian
Berry Gordy
Record Executive, Songwriter, & Producer
Chaka Khan
Actor, Singer, & Songwriter
Gordon Parks
Writer, Photographer, Pianist, Songwriter, & Director
February 2015
Harry Belafonte
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, & Singer
Shirley Chisholm
Politician, Educator, & Author
Carter G. Woodson
Historian
January 2015
Spike Lee
Actor, Director, & Producer
Joe Louis
Professional Boxing Athlete
Nelson Mandela
President (non-U.S.), Writer, & Civil Rights Activist
Augusta Savage
Sculptor, Artist, Educator, & Civil Rights Activist
December 2014
Ella Fitzgerald
Singer
The Notorious B.I.G.
Hip-Hop Recording Artist
Sidney Poitier
Actor & Filmmaker
Bessie Smith
Singer
November 2014
Lena Horne
Singer, Actor, Civil Rights Activist, & Dancer
Quincy Jones
Children's Activist, Trumpet Player, Producer, Songwriter, & Television Producer
Prince
Singer, Producer, & Songwriter
Harriet Tubman
Civil Rights Activist
October 2014
Janet Collins
Prima Ballerina
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Actor, Singer, Comedian, & Dancer
Fannie Lou Hamer
Civil Rights Activist & Philanthropist
John Singleton
Director, Producer, & Screenwriter
September 2014
Josephine Baker
Dancer, Singer, Actor, Civil Rights Activist, & Spy
DJ Grandmaster Flash
Hip-Hop Recording Artist & DJ
Public Enemy
Hip-Hop Recording Group
Faith Ringgold
Women's Rights Activist, Author, Educator, Civil Rights Activist, & Painter
May - August 2014
Bill Cosby
Actor, Comedian, & Producer
Pam Grier
Actor
Billie Holiday
Singer, Songwriter, & Actor
Tupac Shakur
Actor & Hip-Hop Recording Artist
January - April 2014
Jesse Owens
Professional Track & Field Athlete
Richard Pryor
Actor, Comedian, & Screenwriter
Jackie Robinson
Professional Baseball Athlete
August - December 2013
Aretha Franklin
Singer & Actor
Lorraine Hansberry
Playwright & Writer
Michael Jackson
Singer, Music Producer, Songwriter, & Dancer
Booker T. Washington
Educator & Civil Rights Activist
May - July 2013
Louis Armstrong
Musician
W.E.B. Du Bois
Sociologist, Historian, Activist, Author, & Editor
James Baldwin
Novelist, Essayist, Playwright, Poet, & Social Critic
Big Daddy Kane
Rapper, Actor, Producer, & Model
January - April 2013
James Brown
Musician, Producer, Dancer, & Bandleader
George Washington Carver
Scientist, Botanist, Educator, & Inventor
“Sugar” Ray Robinson
Professional Boxing Athlete
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Civil Rights & Women's Rights Activist
December 2012
Hank Aaron
Professional Baseball Athlete
Mary McLeod Bethune
Educator, Author, & Civil Rights Leader
Madam C.J. Walker
Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
July - November 2012
Miles Davis
Musician
Dorothy Jean Dandridge
Singer & Actor
Langston Hughes
Poet, Social Activist, Novelist, Playwright, & Columnist
Sojourner Truth
African-American Abolitionist & Women's Rights Activist
March - June 2012
Maya Angelou
Writer, Dancer, & African-American Activist
Frederick Douglass
Civil Rights Activist
Zora Neale Hurston
Folklorist, Anthropologist, & Author
January - February 2012
Marcus Garvey
Political Leader, Publisher/Journalist, Entrepreneur, & Orator
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil Rights Clergyman, Activist, & Leader
Malcolm X
Muslim Minister & Human Rights Activist
Oct. - December 2011
The Black Panther Party
African-American Activist/Freedom Fighters
Melvin Van Peebles
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Playwright, Novelist, & Composer
Shaka Zulu
Military Commander
