NOTED HBCU ALUMNI
Colleges and universities like to boast about their alumni who have gone on to careers of great distinction. HBCUs are no different and can list among their graduates the current vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris (Howard ’86). Here is a sample list of HBCU alumni: DAVID DINKINS (Howard) 1st African American mayor of New York City
TONI BRAXTON (Bowie State)
LANGSTON HUGHES (Lincoln in Pennsylvania) Poet, social activist and playwright
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter MARLON WAYANS (Howard)
REV. JESSE JACKSON (North Carolina A&T State) Civil rights activist and presidential candidate SPIKE LEE (Morehouse) Oscar-winning film director, producer, writer and actor
Actor, comedian, and film producer
DEBBIE ALLEN (Howard) Actress, choreographer, director and producer ROBERTA FLACK (Howard)
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter
WILMA RUDOLPH (Tennessee State) World-record-holding Olympic track and field champion
W.E.B. DU BOIS (Fisk)
Scholar, activist and NAACP co-founder
TONI MORRISON (Howard)
Nobel Prize-winning novelist
KESHIA KNIGHT PULLIAM (Spelman)
Film and television actress
SAMUEL L. JACKSON (Morehouse) Award-winning actor and film producer LIONEL RICHIE (Tuskegee)Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and actor
ALTHEA GIBSON (Florida A&M) 1st African American tennis player to win 3 major titles
BOB HAYES (Florida A&M) 1st and only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl
GLADYS KNIGHT (Shaw) Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and actress GEORGE ALCORN (Howard) Inventor of the imaging X-ray spectrometer
PHYLICIA RASHAD (Howard)
Actress, singer and stage director
PAM OLIVER (Florida A&M)
FOX sportscaster and journalist
JOHN W. THOMPSON (Florida A&M) 1st African American chairman of Microsoft Corporation
TESTIMONIAL I decided to attend an HBCU because of the rich tradition that has produced black superheroes like my idol W.E.B. Du Bois, who attended Fisk University. Additionally, during the time that I attended an HBCU, the president of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was former congressman William Gray, who was a close friend of my mother, and he spoke highly of the tradition of the black college. Moreover, I was encouraged by my high school English teacher, Mrs. Delores Henderson, who attended Johnson C. Smith University and told me about the Golden Bull tradition. I was more than intrigued, so I attended, and it transformed my life.
Chad Dion Lassiter, Johnson C. Smith University Alumnus
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FALL 2022
