African-American memoirists

Vice President of the United States from 2021 to 2025

American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

American-born Swiss singer and songwriter (1939–2023)

Curtis James Jackson III, known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, television producer, record executive, and businessman. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, he recorded his debut album, Power of the Dollar, for Columbia Records. During a shooting in May 2000, he was struck by nine bullets, causing its release to be canceled and Jackson to be dropped from the label. His 2002 mixtape Guess Who's Back? was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records that year.

African-American social reformer, writer, and abolitionist (c. 1818–1895)

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. He was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. He is the wealthiest musical artist in history, worth US$2.8 billion as of 2026.

American doctor and NASA astronaut

American author and activist (1952–2021)

American actress (1924–2021)

American entertainer (1925–1990)

American lawyer and jurist (born 1970)

La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer and actor. She is the fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family. Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, The Jacksons, on CBS between 1976 and 1977. Thereafter, she saw success as a solo recording artist under multiple record labels in the 1980s and 1990s, including Polydor, Sony Music and RCA, where she released nine studio albums over the course of 15 years. Her most successful releases in the United States were her self-titled debut album (1980) and the 1984 single "Heart Don't Lie". Jackson's other songs include "Night Time Lover", "If You Feel the Funk", "Bet'cha Gonna Need My Lovin'", "Hot Potato", "You're Gonna Get Rocked!", and "Sexbox". Another one of Jackson's songs, "Just Say No" from her fifth album was composed for US first lady Nancy Reagan and Reagan administration's anti-drug campaign.

American opera singer (1945–2019)

American singer (1943–2022)

American writer, journalist, and educator

American writer

American civil rights activist

American activist (1912-2010)

American writer

American literary critic, professor and historian (born 1950)

American journalist (1948-2022)

African American schoolteacher

American dancer and choreographer (1943–2024)

African-American entrepreneur (1814-1904)

American football player and coach (born 1955)

American singer, novelist, actress and model

American writer and academic (born 1947)

American playwright (born 1931)

American children's writer and illustrator

Aberjhani (born Jeffery J. Lloyd July 8, 1957) is an American poet, writer and columnist. He is well known for his blog articles on literature and politics, and as co-author of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance and author of The River of Winged Dreams. The encyclopedia won a Choice Academic Title Award in 2004.

American commuted convict and Trump's "pardon czar"

American activist

American singer (1935–2024)

writer

American historian (1932-2017)

Eritrean-American disability rights advocate

American hip hop-generation author, activist, recording artist, and film producer

African-American memoirist

American author, playwright, poet and painter

American football player

American activist (1931–1973)

American Author, First White House Memoirist

American politician