Maya Angelou
Poet, memoirist, and activist who grew up in Stamps, Arkansas and went on to read at presidential inaugurations.
Stamps, AR, USA
@blackwikiMaya Angelou (early years)
Born in St. Louis in 1928; her childhood trauma there became material for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
St. Louis, MO, USA
@blackwikiMegan Thee Stallion
Houston-born rapper; Hot Girl Summer architect and three-time Grammy winner.
Houston, TX, USA
@blackwikiMichael Jackson
The King of Pop β singer, dancer, and producer who reshaped popular music and performance across five decades.
@blackwikiMichael Jordan
Wilmington, NC-raised basketball player widely regarded as the greatest ever.
Wilmington, NC, USA
@blackwikiMichael Vick
Newport News-born quarterback; first Black QB drafted #1 overall.
Newport News, VA, USA
@blackwikiMissy Elliott
Portsmouth-born rapper and producer; first woman rapper inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Portsmouth, VA, USA
@blackwikiModjeska Simkins
Columbia, SC-born civil-rights leader and public-health pioneer.
Columbia, SC, USA
@blackwikiMuddy Waters
Mississippi Delta-born blues guitarist whose electric Chicago blues style birthed rock and roll.
Rolling Fork, MS, USA
@blackwikiMuhammad Ali
Louisville-born heavyweight champion whose 1967 refusal of the draft made him a global symbol of conscience.
Louisville, KY, USA
@blackwikiNas
Queens-born rapper; Illmatic widely cited as the greatest hip-hop album ever.
New York, NY, USA
@blackwikiNelly
St. Louis rapper; "Hot in Herre," "Country Grammar."
St. Louis, MO, USA
@blackwikiNina Simone
Tryon, NC-born pianist and singer who fused classical training with civil-rights protest music.
Tryon, NC, USA
@blackwikiOprah Winfrey
Kosciusko-born media mogul who built the most influential daytime talk show in American television.
Kosciusko, MS, USA
@blackwikiOssie Davis
Cogdell, GA-born actor, writer, and civil-rights activist; husband of Ruby Dee.
Cogdell, GA, USA
@blackwikiOtis Redding
Dawson, GA-born soul singer who died in a 1967 plane crash three days after recording "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay."
Dawson, GA, USA
@blackwikiPatricia Bath
Ophthalmologist who invented the Laserphaco Probe; first Black female physician to receive a US medical patent.
New York, NY, USA
@blackwikiPharrell Williams
Virginia Beach-born producer and artist; co-founder of N.E.R.D.
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
@blackwikiRay Charles
Albany, GA-born pioneer of soul who fused gospel, blues, and country into a new American genre.
Albany, GA, USA
@blackwikiRemy Ma
Grammy-nominated Bronx rapper, Terror Squad member, and founder of the Remy Network streaming platform.
Bronx, NY, USA
@blackwikiReverend C.T. Vivian
SCLC field general known for the televised confrontation with Sheriff Jim Clark on the Selma courthouse steps.
Atlanta, GA, USA
@blackwikiRick Ross
Miami rapper and head of Maybach Music Group.
Miami, FL, USA
@blackwikiRobert F. Smith
Founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, the largest Black-owned private equity firm in the U.S., and the wealthiest Black American.
@blackwikiRobert Johnson
Mississippi Delta blues pioneer whose 29 surviving recordings define the form.
Hazlehurst, MS, USA
@blackwiki