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Encyclopedia Britannica: Roland Burris
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Roland Burris, an American Democratic politician who was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois. His appointment as U.S. senator (2009-10) to fill the seat...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Ronnie Lott
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ronnie Lott, an American gridiron football player who earned first-team All-Pro honors at all three defensive backfield positions during his standout 14-year National Football League (NFL)...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Rosa Guy
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Rosa Guy, an American writer who drew on her own experiences to create fiction for young adults that usually concerned individual choice, family conflicts, poverty, and the realities of...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Rudolph Fisher
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Rudolph Fisher, an American short-story writer and novelist associated with the Harlem Renaissance whose fiction realistically depicted black urban life in the North, primarily Harlem.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Sammy Price
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sammy Price, an American pianist and bandleader, a jazz musician rooted in the old rhythm and blues and boogie-woogie traditions who had a long career as a soloist and accompanist.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Samuel Coleridge Taylor
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, an English composer who enjoyed considerable acclaim in the early years of the 20th century.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Samuel David Ferguson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel David Ferguson, the first African American bishop of the Episcopal Church.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Samuel Freeman Miller
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel Freeman Miller, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1862-90), a leading opponent of efforts to use the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution to protect business...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Samuel Ringgold Ward
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Samuel Ringgold Ward, a black American abolitionist known for his oratorical power.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Savion Glover
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Savion Glover, an American dancer and choreographer who became known for his unique pounding style of tap dancing, called "hitting." He brought renewed interest in dance, particularly...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Serena Williams
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Serena Williams, an American tennis player who-along with her sister Venus-revolutionized women's tennis with her powerful style of play, becoming one of the game's most dominant athletes...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Shani Davis
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Shani Davis, an American speed skater, who was the first black athlete to win an individual Winter Olympics gold medal.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Sheryl Swoopes
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sheryl Swoopes, an American basketball player who won three Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards (2000, 2002, 2005) and four WNBA titles...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Solomon Burke
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Solomon Burke, an American singer whose success in the early 1960s in merging the gospel style of the African American church with rhythm and blues helped to usher in the soul music era.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Sonny Boy Williamson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Boy Williamson, an American blues vocalist and the first influential harmonica virtuoso, a self-taught player who developed several technical innovations on his instrument.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Sonny Stitt
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Stitt, a black American jazz musician, one of the first and most fluent bebop saxophonists.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Sonny Terry
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Terry, an American blues singer and harmonica player who became the touring and recording partner of guitarist Brownie McGhee in 1941.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Spike Lee
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Spike Lee, an American filmmaker known for his uncompromising, provocative approach to the controversial subject matter.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Steve Mc Nair
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Steve McNair, an American gridiron football player who threw 174 touchdown passes during his 13 National Football League (NFL) seasons (1995-2008), primarily while playing for the...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Stokely Carmichael
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Stokely Carmichael, a West-Indian-born civil-rights activist, leader of black nationalism in the United States in the 1960s and originator of its rallying slogan, "black power.".
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Susan Rice
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Susan Rice, an American public official and foreign policy analyst who served as a member of the National Security Council (1993-97), assistant secretary of state for African affairs...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Tavis Smiley
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Tavis Smiley, an American talk show host, journalist, and political commentator.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Teddy Pendergrass
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Teddy Pendergrass, an American rhythm-and-blues singer who embodied the smooth, Philly soul sound of the 1970s as lead vocalist for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes before embarking on a...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Ted Radcliffe
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Ted Radcliffe, an American baseball player who was a pitcher and catcher in the Negro leagues. Radcliffe was known for his strong throwing arm and, later, for his expansive storytelling.