This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Henry Dumas, an African-American author of poetry and fiction who wrote about the clash between black and white cultures.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Herbie Nichols, an African-American jazz pianist and composer whose advanced bop-era concepts of rhythm, harmony, and form predicted aspects of free jazz.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Hinton Rowan Helper, the only prominent American Southern author to attack slavery before the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861-65). His thesis widely influenced Northern opinion...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Horace Silver, an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, exemplary performer of what came to be called the hard bop style of the 1950s and '60s. The style was an extension of...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Howard Zinn, an American historian and social activist born Aug. 24, 1922, Brooklyn, N.Y. .

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Isaac Burns Murphy, an American jockey who was the first to be elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York; he is one of only two African American...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Isiah Thomas, an American basketball player, considered one of the best point guards in the history of the game. He led the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jackie Joyner-Kersee, an American athlete, considered by many to be the greatest female athlete ever, who became the first participant to score more than 7,000 points in the heptathlon.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jackie Wilson, an American singer who was a pioneering exponent of the fusion of 1950s doo-wop, rock, and blues styles into the soul music of the 1960s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James Augustine Healy, the first African American Roman Catholic bishop in the United States and an advocate for children and Native Americans.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James Winkfield, an American jockey, the last African-American to win the Kentucky Derby.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jamie Foxx, an American comedian, musician, and actor, who became known for his impersonations on the television sketch-comedy show In Living Color and later proved himself a versatile...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Janet Jackson, an American singer and actress whose increasingly mature version of dance-pop music made her one of the most popular recording artists of the 1980s and '90s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jay Z, an American rapper and entrepreneur, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop in the 1990s and early 21st century.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jennifer Hudson, an American actress and singer who won an Academy Award for best-supporting actress for her role in Dreamgirls (2006).

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jessye Norman, an American operatic soprano, one of the finest of her day, who also enjoyed a successful concert career.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jimmy Reed, an American singer, harmonica player, and guitarist who was one of the most popular blues musicians of the post-World War II era.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jimmy Smith, an American musician who integrated the electric organ into jazz, thereby inventing the soul-jazz idiom, which became popular in the 1950s and '60s.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jimmy Yancey, an American blues pianist who established the boogie-woogie style with slow, steady, simple left-hand bass patterns. These became more rapid in the work of his students...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jim Parker, an American professional gridiron football player who, during his 11-year career with the Baltimore Colts, established himself as one of the finest offensive linemen in...

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Johnny Dodds, an African-American musician noted as one of the most lyrically expressive of jazz clarinetists.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Johnny Griffin, an African American jazz tenor saxophonist noted for his fluency in the hard-bop idiom.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features John Singleton, an American film director and screenwriter whose films often examine urban and racial tensions. He is best known for his directorial debut, Boyz n the Hood.

This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jo Jones, a black American musician, one of the most influential of all jazz drummers, noted for his swing, dynamic subtlety, and finesse.