African-American Catholics

African American novelist, essayist, and academic (1931–2019)

Kobe Bean Bryant was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the sport's history, Bryant won five NBA championships and was an 18-time All-Star, four-time All-Star MVP, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), two-time NBA Finals MVP, and two-time scoring champion. He ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. Bryant was posthumously named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 and was a two-time inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, for his playing career in 2020 and as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in 2025.

American-born French dancer, singer and actress (1906–1975)

American jazz singer (1915–1959)

American rapper (born 1982)

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop. Aaliyah's accolades include three American Music Awards and two MTV VMAs, along with five Grammy Award nominations.

American singer, actor and civil rights activist (1927–2023)

American artistic gymnast

American actor (1931–2024)

American writer and feminist activist (1934–1992)

United States 28th Secretary of Defense

American pianist and singer (1928–2017)

American artist (1960-1988)

American actress, singer and former Miss America (born 1963)

American singer, actress, dancer and activist (1917–2010)

American poet and activist

American television producer, television and film writer, and author

American rapper and actor (born 1968)

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991

American actor (1954–2024)

American basketball player, coach, executive

American guitarist and musician

American basketball player and coach

American actress, songwriter and singer (born 1981)

Black American queer liberation activist (1945–1992)

American woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line (1920–1951)

American basketball player and coach (1937–2025)

American jazz musician

American soccer player

American singer, songwriter and record producer (1948-2004)

American jazz musician (1908–2002)

Candace Amber Owens Farmer is an American political commentator, author, and conspiracy theorist. Her political positions have mostly been described as conservative or far-right. She has promoted conspiracy theories on a wide range of subjects throughout her career. Since 2024, she has espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.

55th Governor of New York from 2008 to 2010

American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer (1890–1941)

American heavyweight boxer (1935-2006)

American actress (born 1968)

American actor

American jazz pianist and composer (1924–1966)

American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress (1896-1977)

Mayor of the District of Columbia since 2015

American soccer player

African American sculptor (1844–1907)

Assata Olugbala Shakur was an American political activist, revolutionary, and fugitive who was a member of the Black Panther Party, and later the Black Liberation Army. In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped from prison in 1979 and was wanted by the FBI, with a $1 million reward for information leading to her capture, and an additional $1 million reward offered by the New Jersey attorney general. She was never caught and remained a fugitive for 45 years.

American former professional baseball player, author, bussinessman and baseball broadcasters

American singer

American record producer, musician and composer

American jazz pianist and composer (1910–1981)

American jazz pianist and composer (1928–2014)

American singer

American politician and activist

American actor, comedian and director (born 1968)

American actor (1955–2022)

American sprinter

American actor and businessman

American actress (born 1967)

American jazz singer

American politician (born 1958)

American athlete and politician (1910–1978)

American basketball player

American cartoonist (1880-1944)