Ed Bradley, award winning 60 Minutes correspondent (Cheyney State)
Keith Clinkscales, former CEO of Vanguard Media (Florida A&M University)
Alvin J. Boutte- founder and CEO of Indecorp, the largest Black-owned financial institution in the U.S. (Xavier)
Althea Gibson, first African American woman to win Wimbledon, U.S. Open and the French Open
Booker T. Washington, noted educator (Hampton)
The Honorable Barbara Jordan, legislator (Texas Southern)
Pam Oliver- trailblazing female sportscaster (Florida A&M University)
Reuben Studdard- American Idol winner (Alabama A&M)
Sean “P.Diddy” Combs- founder and CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment (Howard)
Common- actor, hip hop artist (Florida A&M University)
Rosa Parks- civil rights icon (Alabama State)
Alex Haley- author (Alcorn State)
Steve McNair- NFL quarterback (Alcorn State)
Michael Clark Duncan- actor (Alcorn State)
A. Phillip Randolph- civil rights activist (Bethune Cookman College)
Mary McLeod Bethune- educator, college founder and presidential advisor (Barbara Scotia College)
James Weldon Johnson- writer of the Negro National Anthem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” (Clark Atlanta)
Nikki Giovanni- poet (Fisk)
Matthew Knowles- music industry executive (Fisk)
Rob Hardy and William Packer- movie producers (Florida A&M University)
Erykah Badu- singer (Grambling)
Wanda Sykes- comedian (Hampton)
Ananda Lewis- talk show host (Howard)
Andrew Young- U.N. ambassador, Atlanta mayor (Howard)
David Dinkins- New York mayor (Howard)
Debbie Allen- choreographer, director (Howard)
Ossie Davis- actor (Howard)
Lynn Whitfield- actress (Howard)
Phylicia Rashad- actress (Howard)
Sharon Pratt Kelly- DC mayor (Howard)
Shirley Franklin- Atlanta mayor (Howard)
Toni Morrison- Nobel Prize winning author (Howard)
Vernon Jordan- former head of UNCF and Urban League (Howard)
The Honorable Roderick Paige- U.S. Secretary of Education (Jackson State)
Walter Payton- Hall of Fame NFL player (Jackson State)
Whitney Young- former Urban League head (Kentucky State)
George Curry- former editor, Emerge Magazine (Knoxville College)
Bessie Coleman- first female African American pilot (Langston College)
Benjamin Hooks- NAACP head (LeMoyne-Owen College)
Marion Barry- Washington, DC mayor (LeMoyne-Owen College)
Langston Hughes- writer (Lincoln)
Thurgood Marshall- Supreme Court Justice (Lincoln)
Jerry Rice- NFL player (Mississippi Valley State)
Esther Rolle- actress (Spelman)
Oprah Winfrey- talk show host, philanthropist (Tennessee State)
Ron Brown- Democratic Party head, Secretary of Commerce (Tennessee State)
Wilma Rudolph- Olympic athlete (Tennessee State)
Yolanda Adams- singer (Tennessee State)
Betty Shabazz- (Tuskeegee)
Keenan Ivory Wayans- (Tuskeegee)
Ralph Ellison- author of “The Invisible Man” (Tuskeegee)
Reginald Lewis- late CEO of TLC/ Beatrice (Virginia State)
Tony Brown- journalist (West Virginia State)
James Farmer- civil rights activist (Wiley College)
Jack Chaney-Basketball Coach (Bethune-Cookman College)

Current Members of Congress

U.S. Rep. Frank Balance Jr. (D-NC)- North Carolina Central University
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)- Morehouse College
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL)- Florida A&M University
U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)- South Carolina State University
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)- Howard University
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)- Fisk University, Howard University and Florida A&M University
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)- North Carolina A&T University
U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)- Southern University
U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)- Fisk University
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)- Florida A&M University
U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)- Howard University
U.S. Rep. Major Owens (D-NY)- Morehouse College, Atlanta University
U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-GA)- Florida A&M University
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS)- Tougaloo College, Jackson State University
U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)- North Carolina A&T University