ARTS | ATHLETICS | BUSINESS | CIVIL RIGHTS
ARTS
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William (Count) Basie – Internationally known pianist, composer, arranger, and band leader.
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Sterling Brown – Teacher, poet, writer, Professor Emeritus of Literature at Howard University, has a special foundation for folk culture and jazz music.
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Steve Harvey – Comedian and actor.
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Roland Hayes – Internationally known tenor of the 1920’s; sang in five different languages.
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Langston Hughes – The Black poet laureate, excelled as a poet, playwright, novelist, lyricist, and humorist
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Tom Joyner – Radio show host.
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Max Roach – Internationally known drummer
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Rickey Smiley – Comedian and actor.
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Joe Torry – Comedian, author, actor, and producer
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William DeHart Hubbard – University of Michigan sprinter; first black person to represent the United States in the Olympic Games in 1924.
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Ed “Too Tall” Jones – Former Outstanding player with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Michael Jordan – Outstanding former player with the Chicago Bulls.
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Mo Vaughn – Former outstanding baseball player with the Boston Red Sox.
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Steve McNair – Outstanding former NFL player with the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.
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Vince Carter – 8-time All-Star. 2-time All-NBA guard.
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Mark Duper – 3 time Pro Bowler and 2-time All-Pro former wide receiver with Miami Dolphins.
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Shaquille O’Neal - Star center and 14 time NBA All-star. He is 3 time NBA Final MVP and 2000 NBA MVP.
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Charlie Ward – 1993 Heisman Trophy winner and former NBA guard
ATHLETICS
BUSINESS
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Jessie Hill – President of Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
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Earl Graves – Chairman and CEO of Black Enterprise Magazine.
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Therman McKenzie – Former Co-Owner of M & M Products (Sta Soft Fro).
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Nathaniel Bronner – Co-Owner of Bronner Brothers Beauty.
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Byron E. Lewis, Sr. – Founder and Chairman Emeritus, UniWorld Group, Inc. Now in its 44th year of a successful business operation, UniWorld is the nation’s oldest surviving multicultural advertising company.
CIVIL RIGHTS
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James Nabrit – Former Dean of the Howard University Law School and former president of Howard University. A leader in the training of the early Civil Rights lawyers.
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Roy Wilkins – Long-time Executive Director of the NAACP.
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Jesse Jackson- Former Director of Operation PUSH; Founder, National Rainbow Coalition.
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Vernon Jordan – Noted Attorney and Former Executive Director of the National Urban League.
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Benjamin Hooks – Succeeded Roy Wilkins as Executive Director of the NAACP, the most effective of all civil rights organizations.
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Oliver Hill – Civil Rights attorney whose work against racial discrimination helped end the doctrine of “separate but equal”. 1999 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
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Bayard Rustin – Civil rights organizer and activist and leader for Social movements. He organized the Freedom Rides and served as an organizer for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.