Lists of African Americans

This is a list of African Americans, also known as Black Americans (for the outdated and unscientific racial term) or Afro-Americans. African Americans are an ethnic group consisting of citizens of the United States mainly descended from various Americas|indigenous Americans peoples with minor additional ancestry from Europe and West African and Central African and other regions of Africa. As an ethnic group, African Americans have a small amount of african ancestry due to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade when only 388,00 slave were brought to North America. Those Africans were mixed with the major population of Americas|indigenous Americans who also were enslaved in America and developed a new and distinct cultural identity during their time in the Americas.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article and references showing the person is African-American.

Activists

Artists

Businesspeople and entrepreneurs

Alton Abraham, former social entrepreneur and business manager for Sun Ra
Wally Amos, founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand
Donna Auguste, former founder of Freshwater Software
Leonard C. Bailey, business owner and inventor
LaVar Ball, owner of the Big Baller Brand sports apparel
Tyra Banks, television personality, former model
Christiana Carteaux Bannister, entrepreneur, hairdresser
ASAP Bari, co-founder of ASAP Mob and VLONE Clothing
Andre Barnett, founder of the Information Technology Company WiseDome INC
Beyoncé, founder of Parkwood Entertainment and Cécred, co-founder of Tidal and SirDavis
Sarah Bickford, former owner of Virginia City Water Company
Dave Bing, owner of Bing Steel
Chris Brown, founder of the record label CBE
Madeline Bunch, founder of the Bunch Products Company, manufacturing Old South Brand beef and pork sausages
Herman Cain, business executive
Kenton Clarke, CEO, Computer Consulting Associates International Inc.
Griffin Sisters, vaudeville performers and entrepreneurs
Demmette Guidry, music industry executive
Kerry S. Harris, entrepreneur
Robert L. Johnson, co-founder of BET and RLJ Companies
Lisa S. Jones, founder and CEO of EyeMail Inc.
Theodore W. Jones, Canadian-born American businessman and politician^[1]
Josephine Leary, real estate entrepreneur from North Carolina
Walter P. Lomax Jr., founder of Lomax Health Systems
Mary Ellen Pleasant, real estate magnate
Skippy Smith, founder of Pacific Parachute Company in San Diego, California, the first national Black–owned and managed defense production plant^[2]
Henry A. Tandy, founder, Tandy&Burns stone masonry and construction firm
Vertner Woodson Tandy, first African American architect in State of New York; founder of Kappa Phi Alpha fraternity
Madam C. J. Walker, businessperson, hair care entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist
Gertrude Pocte Geddes Willis, owner of the Gertrude Geddes Willis Life Insurance Company and Gertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home

Chefs

Cinematographers

Entertainers

Fashion

Beauty queens and fashion models

Kimberly Clarice Aiken, Miss America 1994
J. Alexander, fashion model
Karen Alexander, fashion model
K. D. Aubert, fashion model
Tyra Banks, fashion model^[5]
Deshauna Barber, Miss USA 2016
Dorothea Church, fashion model
Pat Cleveland, model
Lynnette Cole, Miss USA 2000
Yaya DaCosta, fashion model
Bruce Darnell, male model
Jordan Emanuel, Miss Black America New York 2018
Jaimee Foxworth, actress, model and singer
Tomiko Fraser, fashion model
Kaliegh Garris, model
Lakita Garth, Miss Black California 1995
Carole Gist, Miss USA 1990
Quiana Grant, model
Ethel Ernestine Harper, educator and performer
Tanisha Harper, model
Shauntay Hinton, Miss USA 2002
Chanel Iman (African-American father), fashion model^[6]
Beverly Johnson, model
Jari Jones, model and trans activist
Toccara Jones, model
Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019^[7]
Donyale Luna, model and actress
Eva Marcille, fashion model
Kara McCullough, Miss USA 2017^[8]
Demetria McKinney, actress and model
Nana Meriwether (African-American father), Miss USA 2012
Kenya Moore, Miss USA 1993
Tracey Norman, first African-American trans model^[9]
Fionnghuala O'Reilly, Irish American model
Sofia Richie (African-American father), fashion model^[10]
Jasmine Sanders, model
Neferteri Shepherd, model
Kimora Lee Simmons (half Japanese Korean, half African American)
Naomi Sims, model and businesswoman
Chelsi Smith (African-American father), Miss USA 1995 and Miss Universe 1995
Darine Stern, first African-American to be on the cover of Playboy magazine
Renee Tenison, first African-American Playboy Playmate of the year
Eugena Washington, model
Veronica Webb, model

Fashion designers

Government and politics

President

Barack Obama (Kenyan-American father), 44th president of the United States, 2009–2017

Vice president

Kamala Harris (Jamaican-American father), 49th vice president of the United States, 2021–2025

First Ladies of the United States

Michelle Obama (2009–2017), first African American First Lady; 44th First Lady^[12]

Governors

Archie Alexander, former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Wes Moore, serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023, first African American to serve as governor of Maryland
David Paterson (African-American mother), 55th governor of New York
Deval Patrick, served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts 2007–2015, so far the only African American to serve as governor of Massachusetts^[13]
P.B.S. Pinchback, served as the 24th governor of Louisiana 1872–1873; first African American to become governor of a U.S. state
Douglas Wilder, served as the 66th governor of Virginia, first elected African-American governor, first African American to serve as governor of U.S. state since Reconstruction^[14]

Other political fields

Stephen Bates, first African American sheriff in the state of Vermont
Perry B. Jackson, first African American elected judge in the state of Ohio
Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, and co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition project^[15]^[16]
Kimberly A. McClain, assistant secretary for the Department of Housing of Urban Development^[17]
Mazi Melesa Pilip, Ethiopian-born American politician

Journalism and media

List of African American journalists

Legal system

Military and law enforcement

Science and mathematics

Sports

List of African American sportspeople

Writers

Publishers

W. Paul Coates, founder of Black Classic Press
Jayne Cortez, founder of Bola Press
Charles F. Harris, founder of Amistad Press
John H. Johnson
Naomi Long Madgett, poet and founder of Lotus Press
Haki Madhubuti, co-founder of Third World Press
Dudley Randall, founder of Broadside Press
Ishmael Reed
Glenn Thompson, co-founder of Writers and Readers Cooperative

Other notables

References

↑ Mather, Frank Lincoln (1915). Who's Who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. Vol. 1. pp. 163–164 – via Google Books.
↑ Carrico, Richard L.; Jordan, Stacey (December 2004). "Centre City Development Corporation Downtown San Diego African-American Heritage Study" (PDF). Mooney & Associates. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2018.
↑ Eligon, John; Julia Moskin (July 16, 2019). " "l 16 Black Chefs: Changing Food in America". The New York Times.
↑ Newsome, Melba (February 9, 2021). "9 Black Chefs Who Have Changed the Way We Eat". Taste of Home.
↑ Trebay, Guy (May 8, 2019). "At 45, Tyra Banks is Back on the Cover of Sports Illustrated". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
↑ "Chanel Iman Strikes A Pose for 'the Edit' and speaks out again on Fashion Diversity". m.huffpost.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
↑ "North Carolina lawyer Cheslie Kryst named Miss USA 2019". www.nbc.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
↑ "Miss USA 2017 is Kara McCullough". people.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
↑ "25 Black Models Who Shaped Fashion History".
↑ "Sofia Richie touches on Race and Religion in new interview". www.vanityfair.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
↑ "5 African American Designers Who Changed Fashion".
↑ "First Lady Michelle Obama". www.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
↑ Milevski, Laila (January 19, 2023). "How many Black governors have served in the U.S. before Wes Moore?". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
↑ "Douglas L. Wilder". www.wilder.vcu.edu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
↑ "Valerie Jarrett". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
↑ "Valerie Jarrett's Extraordinary Family tree". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
↑ "List of Department of Housing and Urban Development appointments by Joe Biden", Wikipedia, October 15, 2023, retrieved October 15, 2023
↑ Pirani, Fiza (October 18, 2018). "Who is Louis Farrakhan? 10 things to know about the Nation of Islam leader, black activist". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 10, 2020.

External links

President Obama's speech to the NAACP on July 16, 2009 - full video by MSNBC
Famous African Americans

This article includes a people-related list of lists.

[Mather-1915-1] Mather, Frank Lincoln (1915). Who's Who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. Vol. 1. pp. 163–164 – via Google Books.

[:0-2] Carrico, Richard L.; Jordan, Stacey (December 2004). "Centre City Development Corporation Downtown San Diego African-American Heritage Study" (PDF). Mooney & Associates. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2018.

[3] Eligon, John; Julia Moskin (July 16, 2019). " "l 16 Black Chefs: Changing Food in America". The New York Times.

[4] Newsome, Melba (February 9, 2021). "9 Black Chefs Who Have Changed the Way We Eat". Taste of Home.

[5] Trebay, Guy (May 8, 2019). "At 45, Tyra Banks is Back on the Cover of Sports Illustrated". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

[6] "Chanel Iman Strikes A Pose for 'the Edit' and speaks out again on Fashion Diversity". m.huffpost.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.

[7] "North Carolina lawyer Cheslie Kryst named Miss USA 2019". www.nbc.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.

[8] "Miss USA 2017 is Kara McCullough". people.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.

[9] "25 Black Models Who Shaped Fashion History".

[10] "Sofia Richie touches on Race and Religion in new interview". www.vanityfair.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.

[11] "5 African American Designers Who Changed Fashion".

[12] "First Lady Michelle Obama". www.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2019.

[13] Milevski, Laila (January 19, 2023). "How many Black governors have served in the U.S. before Wes Moore?". Baltimore Banner. Retrieved January 19, 2023.

[14] "Douglas L. Wilder". www.wilder.vcu.edu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2018.

[15] "Valerie Jarrett". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.

[16] "Valerie Jarrett's Extraordinary Family tree". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.

[17] "List of Department of Housing and Urban Development appointments by Joe Biden", Wikipedia, October 15, 2023, retrieved October 15, 2023

[18] Pirani, Fiza (October 18, 2018). "Who is Louis Farrakhan? 10 things to know about the Nation of Islam leader, black activist". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 10, 2020.

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