African Americans From Omaha
Further information: People from North Omaha, Nebraska| “ | Being born in Omaha doesn't make me an American any more than being born in an oven makes a cat a biscuit. – Malcolm X | ” |
| Notable African Americans from Omaha (Alphabetical) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Image | Role | Era |
| Lester Abrams | Funk musician | 1970s | |
| Houston Alexander | Extreme fighter, hip hop artist and radio DJ | 1980s-present | |
| John Beasley | Television and film actor | 1980s-present | |
| Bob Boozer | Former National Basketball Association player, gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics | 1950s–1960s | |
| Frank Brown (politician) | City of Omaha City councilmember | 1970s-present | |
| Mildred Brown | Founder, Omaha Star newspaper | 1930s–1980s | |
| Willy Brown | Local worker lynched by white mob | 1919 | |
| Bertha Calloway | Founder of the Great Plains Black History Museum | 1960s–1990s | |
| Ernie Chambers | Longest-serving Nebraska State Senator in history | 1960s-present | |
| Brenda Council | City of Omaha councilmember, school board member | 1970s-present | |
| Alfonza W. Davis | Captain in the Tuskegee Airmen, first black military aviator from Omaha to receive his wings from Tuskegee Field | 1940s | |
| Bob Gibson | National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher for St. Louis Cardinals | ||
| Ahman Green | Professional football player | 1990s-first decade of the 21st century | |
| Wynonie Harris | Rhythm & Blues singer | 1960s-present | |
| Harry Haywood | High profile international Communist Party leader | 1940s–1970s | |
| Cathy Hughes | Founder and president of Radio One | 1970s-present | |
| Lloyd Hunter | Big band leader | 1920s–1950s | |
| Kenton Keith | Professional football player | ||
| Preston Love | Jazz player | 1950s–1990s | |
| Lois "Lady Mac" McMorris | Guitarist | 1970s-present | |
| Buddy Miles | Musician | 1960s–1990s | |
| Rowena Moore | Labor activist in meatpacking industry. Also Founder of the Malcolm X House Site | 1940s for union. 1970s–1980s as civic activist | |
| Sandra Organ | Longtime Houston Ballet soloist | 1980s-present | |
| George Wells Parker | Co-founder of the Hamitic League of the World | 1910s–1930s | |
| Ron Prince | Head football coach at Kansas State University | 1980s-first decade of the 21st century | |
| Dr. Matthew Ricketts | First African American elected to the Nebraska State Legislature in 1892. | 1880s–1900 | |
| Joe Rogers | Colorado Lieutenant Governor, 1999–2003 (R) | 1990s | |
| Johnny Rodgers | 1972 Heisman Trophy Winner, College Football Hall of Fame Inductee and voted University of Nebraska's "player of the century" | 1960s–1980 | |
| Gale Sayers | Professional football player, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee | 1960s | |
| Gabrielle Union | Television and film actress | 1990s-first decade of the 21st century | |
| Luigi Waites | Musician | 1960s-present | |
| Clarence W. Wigington | Architect | 1910s–1950 | |
| Big Joe Williams | Musician | ||
| Anna Mae Winburn | Big band leader | 1930s–1960 | |
| Helen Jones Woods, | Big band trombonist | 1930s–1960 | |
| Malcolm X | Civil rights leader (grew up elsewhere) | 1930s–1960s | |
| Whitney Young | Former head of Omaha Urban League | 1930s–1960s | |
| Herman Cain | Former CEO of Godfather's Pizza (1986–88), Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch (1989–91), depty Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (1992–94), Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (1995–96), and was among the Republican Party presidential candidates, 2012 | 1980s-1990s | |
First African-American to enter and win a title in the Miss America Pageant. The year 1969
Read more about this topic: African Americans In Omaha, Nebraska
Famous quotes containing the words african americans, african, americans and/or omaha:
“The confirmation of Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative voices to be added to the [Supreme] Court in recent memory, carries a sobering message for the African- American community.... As he begins to make his mark upon the lives of African Americans, we must acknowledge that his successful nomination is due in no small measure to the support he received from black Americans.”
—Kimberly Crenshaw (b. 1959)
“The sacrifice to Legba was completed; the Master of the Crossroads had taken the loas’ mysterious routes back to his native Guinea.
Meanwhile, the feast continued. The peasants were forgetting their misery: dance and alcohol numbed them, carrying away their shipwrecked conscience in the unreal and shady regions where the savage madness of the African gods lay waiting.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“The Americans ... are almost ignorant of the art of music, one of the most elevating, innocent and refining of human tastes, whose influence on the habits and morals of a people is of the most beneficial tendency.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“The first dead man on Omaha Beach must be a sailor!”
—Paddy Chayefsky (1923–1981)