Distinguished Black College Graduates And Their Alma Maters

 
Here's a useful resource from Black Excel for counselors and educators working with African-American students.

This is a partial list of graduates who have gotten a lot of media attention, generally because of "spotlight" careers. Many have excelled in sports, music or entertainment. Some have made historic contributions. Of course, many of our "stars" are unsung. An extended list of their success stories in academia, science, business and beyond could fill a library. This is only a reference starter. Note: some folks have degrees from two schools.

(*denotes an Historically Black College.)

 

Alcorn State University*
------------------------
Alex Haley, author of Roots
Medgar Evers, slain civil rights leader
 

Amherst College
---------------
Charles Drew, discovered blood plasma Charles Hamilton, attorney
associated with desegregation cases and debate
 

Antioch College
---------------
Coretta Scott King, wife of our civil rights leader
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congresswoman, lawyer, educator
 

Arizona State University
------------------------
Reggie Jackson, baseball Hall of Famer
Ron Brown, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
 

Barnard College
---------------
Thulani Davis, writer
Ntozake Shange, playwright
June Jordan, poet, writer
Jacqueline Fleming, author
 

Bates College
-------------
Bryant Gumbel, TV news personality
 

Berea College
-------------
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, esteemed author of Mis-Education of the Negro,   scholar
 

Boston College
--------------
Barbara Jordan, professor, Congresswoman, member of the Watergate Committee
Edward Brooke, first Black U.S. Senator (MA)
 

California State University
---------------------------
Shirley Anne Williams, author, Emmy winner
 

Carnegie-Mellon University
--------------------------
Blair Underwood, actor
 

Central State University
------------------------
Leontyne Price, esteemed opera singer
 

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania*
------------------------ ----------
Ed Bradley, co-host of "60 Minutes"
 

City College of the City University of New York
-----------------------------------------------
Gen. Colin Powell, highest-ranking officer in U.S. history and
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
 

Clark Altanta University*
-------------------------
Marva Collins, teacher, educator
James Weldon Johnson, poet, author, leading figure of Harlem Renaissance
 

Colgate University
------------------
Adam Clayton Powell, great Congressman and civil rights leader.
George Davis, educator and writer
 

College of the Holy Cross
-------------------------
Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
 

Columbia University
-------------------
Franklin A. Thomas, former President of Ford Foundation
Dr. Alvin Pouissant, psychiatrist, Associate Dean of Harvard
 Medical School
Mario Van Peebles, movie producer and director
Langston Hughes, poet
Paul Robeson, actor, civil rights activist
 

Dartmouth College
-----------------
Carl McCall, former state senator, Comptroller of New York State
 

De Pauw University
- ----------------
Benjamin Hooks, former NAACP president
 

DePaul University (Indiana)
---------------------------
Vernon Jordan, former head of the Urban League
 

Duke University
---------------
S. Dallas Simmons, president of Virginia Union
Grant Hill, NBA basketball star
 

Earlham College
---------------
Manning Marable, author
 

Fisk University*
----------------
W.E.B. DuBois, great educator, author
Nikki Giovanni, poet
Dr. John Hope Franklin, educator, author
 

Florida A & M University*
-------------------------
Carrie Meek, state senator (FL)
Dr. Fredrick S. Humphries, president of Florida A&M
Alcee Hastings, Congressman
T'Keyah Keymah ("Crystal"), actress
Bob "Bullet" Hayes, track star
 

Franklin and Marshall College
-----------------------------
William H. Gray, former head of the United Negro College Fund
 

Georgetown University
----------------------------
Patrick A. Ewing, basketball star
 

Grambling State University*
---------------------------
Paul "Tank" Younger, first Black football player drafted into the NFL
Willie Davis, baseball player
Willis Reed, star basketball player
Doug Williams, football player in NFL
 

Grinnell College
----------------
Herbie Hancock, musician
Donald Stewart, former president of College Board
 

Hampton University*
-------------------
Booker T. Washington, national leader, founder of
 Tuskegee University
 

Harvard University
------------------
W.E.B DuBois, educator, writer, co-founder of NAACP
 

Haverford College
-----------------
Juan Williams, reporter for the Washington Post, NPR host
 

Howard University*
------------------
David Dinkins, first Black mayor of New York City
Sharon Pratt Kelly, former mayor of Washington, DC
Debbie Allen, dancer, actress
Toni Morrison, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
Roberta Flack, singer
Douglas Wilder, former governor of Virginia
Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court Justice
Jessye Norman, opera diva
Ed Bradley, TV commentator, radio host
Richard Wesley, playwright
Kenneth B. Clark, psychologist, author
Andrew Young, former mayor of Atlanta, U.S. ambassador
Phylicia Ayers-Allen Rashad, actress
Donny Hathaway, singer
Angela Winbush, singer
 

Illinois State University
-------------------------
Donald McHenry, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
 

Illinois Wesleyan University
----------------------------
Frankie Faison, actor
 

Indiana University
------------------
Isiah Thomas, basketball player and general manager
 

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania*
------------------------ ----------
Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court Justice
Langston Hughes, world-famous poet
Gil Scott Heron, poet, musician
Kwame Nkrumah, former president of Ghana
Nnamdi Azikiwe, former president of Nigeria

Iowa State University
---------------------
George Washington Carver, educator, botanist
 

Johns Hopkins University
------------------------
Andre Watts, pianist
 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
------ ------------------------------
Ronald McNair, astronaut
Dr. Shirley Jackson, first Black woman to earn Ph.D. in physics
 

Miami University of Oxford
--------------------------
Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
 

Michigan State University
-------------------------
Ernest Green, "Little Rock 9" student
Magic Johnson, NBA basketball star
Bubba Smith, football player
 

Middlebury College
------------------
Ron Brown, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
 

Millsaps College
----------------
Randall Pinkston, TV reporter
 

Morehouse College*
------------------
Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize winner
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and
 Human Services
Spike Lee, filmmaker
Lerone Bennett, author, editor of Ebony
Edwin Moses, Olympic gold medalist
Maynard Jackson, former mayor of Atlanta
Julian Bond, former state senator, civil rights leader
 

Morgan State University*
------------------------
Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise
Kweisi Mfume, president of NAACP
Deniece Williams, singer
Parren Mitchell, former U.S. Congressman
Samm Art Williams, producer of "Fresh Prince" TV shows
Zora Neale Hurston, novelist
 

Morris Brown College*
---------------------
James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
 

New York University
-------------------
Dr. Lorraine Hale, physician, founder of Hale House
Constance Baker Motley, first Black female federal judge
Carol Jenkins, TV anchor
Spike Lee, filmmaker
Louis Gossett, Jr., actor
Charles Rangel, U.S. Congressman (Harlem)
Countee Cullen, poet of the Harlem Renaissance

North Carolina A&T University*
------------------------------
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader/ presidential candidate
Ron McNair, astronaut

Northwestern University
-----------------------
Johnetta Cole, former president of Spelman College
Daphne Maxwell Reid, actress
Chico Freeman, jazz artist
 

Oberlin College
---------------
Niara Sudarkasa, former president of Lincoln  University
Johnetta Cole, former president of Spelman College
Carl Rowan, syndicated columnist, TV commentator
Avery Brooks, actor
 

Ohio State University
---------------------
Archie Griffin, football player, two-time Heisman winner
Faye Wattleton, former president of Planned Parenthood
 

Ohio University
------ --------
Clarence Page, author, columnist, TV commentator
 

Pomona College
--------------
Mylie Evers, (wife of civil rights martyr Medgar Evers) chair
 of NAACP
 

Purdue University
-----------------
Leroy Keys, football player
Glen Robinson, NBA basketball player
 

Rutgers University
------------------
Paul Robeson, actor, civil rights activist
 

St. Louis University
--------------------
William L. Glay, Sr., Director of United Negro College Fund
Robert Guillaume, actor
 

Sarah Lawrence College
----------------------
Alice Walker, Pulitzer novelist, poet
Holly Robinson, actress
Robin Givens, actress
 

Seattle University
------------------
Elgin Baylor, former NBA basketball great
Quincy Jones, musician, movie and TV producer
 

Southern Illinois University
----------------------------
Charles Johnson, author and editor
 

Southern University*
--------------------
Lou Brock, baseball Hall of Famer
Bob Love, all-star basketball player
Harold Carmichael, football star in NFL
Isiah Robertson, football star in NFL
Willie Davenport, baseball player
 

Spelman College*
----------------
Marian Wright Edelman, President Children's
Defense Fund
Marcelite J. Harris, first woman Air Force
brigadier general
Esther Rolle, actress
Rolanda Watts, newscaster
 
 

Smith College
-------------
Ng'endo Mwangi, first woman physician in Kenya
 

Syracuse University
-------------------
Vanessa Williams, singer & actress
Dave Bing, former basketball star, entrepreneur
Darryl Bell, actor ("A Different World")
Angela Robinson, TV news anchor
Suzanne DePasse, TV producer
 

Stanford University
-------------------
Mae Jemison, first Black female astronaut
Tiger Woods, professional golfer
Debi Thomas, Olympic bronze-medal winner in figure skating
 

State University of New York at Purchase
----------------------------------------
Wesley Snipes, actor
 

State University of New York at Stony Brook
-------------------------------------------
Lani Guinier, law professor
 

Swarthmore College
------------------
Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts,
 New York University
 

Temple University
-----------------
Bill Cosby, comedian, author
 

Tennessee State University*
---------------------------
Oprah Winfrey, TV talk show host
 

Texas Southern University*
--------------------------
Barbara Jordan, Congresswoman
 

Tuskegee University*
--------------------
Lionel Richie, singer
Ralph Ellison, novelist
Robert Beck ("Iceberg Slim"), author
Dr. Betty Shabazz, professor, widow of Malcolm X
Daniel James, general, U.S. Air Force
 

United States Naval Academy
---------------------------
David Robinson, professional basketball star
 

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
----------------------------------------------
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, professional basketball player
Thomas Bradley, mayor of Los Angeles
Arthur Ashe, professional tennis player, first Black man to win
 Wimbledon
Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, United Nations diplomat

University of Chicago
---------------------
Katherine Dunham, famed dancer
 

University of Iowa
------------------
Al Jarreau, singer
 

University of Kansas
--------------------
Lynette Woodard, Olympic and all-star basketball player
Wilt Chamberlain, basketball great
Gale Sayers, NFL football star
 

University of Kentucky
----------------------
Ruth J. Simmons, first African-American college President
at Smith College
 

University of Maryland at College Park
--------------------------------------
Len Elmore, former basketball player, attorney
Mark McEwen, co-anchor, CBS Morning News
Franklin Jenifer, former president of Howard University
 

University of Massachusetts
---------------------------
Julius Erving ("Dr. J"), basketball great
Natalie Cole, singer, Grammy winner
 

University of Michigan
----------------------
James Earl Jones, actor
Ben Carson, neurosurgeon
Jessye Norman, opera great
 

University of New Mexico
------------------------
Ed Lewis, publisher of Essence
John A. Lewis, jazz musician (MJQ)
 

University of Notre Dame
------------------------
Ann Williams, first AA woman appointed to federal bench
 

University of Oklahoma
----------------------
Derrick Minter, dancer, Alvin Ailey Dance Company
Wayman Tisdale, former NBA basketball player
 

University of Oregon
--------------------
Ahmad Rashad, TV sportscaster
 

University of South Carolina
----------------------------
Frank L. Matthews, co-publisher Black Issues in Higher Education
George Rogers, Heisman Trophy winner
Alex English, basketball star
 

University of Southern California
---------------------------------
John Singleton, filmmaker, director
 

University of Virginia
----------------------
Wesley C. McClure, president of Virginia State
Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry
Ralph Sampson, former NBA basketball player
 

Washington University
---------------------
Walter E. Massey, director of National Science Foundation
 

Vassar College
--------------
Angela Davis, professor, activist
 

Virginia Union University*
--------------------------
Douglas Wilder, former Governor of Virginia
Charles Oakley, NBA player
A.J. English, NBA player
 

Wesleyan University
-------------------
Charles Stone, journalist
Kim Wayans, actress
 

Williams College
----------------
Sterling Brown, poet
 

Winston-Salem State University*
-------------------------------
Earl "the Pearl" Monroe, basketball great
 

Yale University
---------------
Paul Robeson, singer, actor, activist
Ben Carson, neurosurgeon
Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice
Anita Hill, attorney, professor
Angela Bassett, actress
Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author, Chair of African Studies, Harvard   University

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