Famous Index

Morrison began writing fiction as part of an informal group of poets and writers at Howard University who met to discuss their work.
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Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of 'Locked Up', the first single from his debut album, Trouble.
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Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), often known as The Reverend Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including 'Take Me to the River', 'Tired of Being Alone', 'I'm Still in Love with You', 'Love and Happiness', and his signature song, 'Let's Stay Together'. Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Green was referred to on the museum's site as being 'one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music'. He has also been referred to as 'The Last of the Great Soul Singers'. Green was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranking at No. 65, as well as its list of the 100 Greatest Singers, at No. 14.
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Alwin 'Al' Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. He received a total of seven Grammy Awards and was nominated for over a dozen more. Jarreau is perhaps best known for his 1981 album Breakin' Away. He also sang the theme song of the 1980s television series Moonlighting, and was among the performers on the 1985 charity song 'We Are the World.'
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Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.Haley's first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with the subject, a major black leader.He was working on a second family history novel at his death. Haley had requested that David Stevens, a screenwriter, complete it; the book was published as Queen: The Story of an American Family. It was adapted as a miniseries, Alex Haley's Queen, broadcast in 1993.
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Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress and philanthropist. A classically-trained pianist, Keys was composing songs by age 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records.
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Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known as Aloe Blacc (), is a Panamanian-American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for his singles 'I Need a Dollar', 'The Man', which topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and for writing and performing vocals on Avicii's 'Wake Me Up', which topped the charts in 22 countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom. Aside from his solo career, Blacc is also a member of hip hop duo Emanon, alongside American record producer Exile.
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Alvin Ailey (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an African-American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the most successful dance companies in the world. He created AAADT and its affiliated Ailey School as havens for nurturing black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. His work fused theatre, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of black life in America. Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a “vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World.” That same year, in recognition of AAADT's 50th year anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 'Alvin Ailey Day' in New York City while then Governor David Paterson honoured the organization on behalf of New York State. See profile

Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (August 10, 1858 – February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, sociologist, speaker, Black Liberation activist, and one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. Born into slavery in 1858, Cooper triumphed against the odds of gender and race to receive a world-class education and claim power and prestige in academic and social circles. Upon receiving her PhD in history from the Sorbonne in 1924, Cooper became the fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree. She was also a prominent member of Washington, D.C.'s African-American community and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Cooper made contributions to social science fields, particularly in sociology. She is sometimes called 'the mother of Black Feminism.'
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Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, civil rights activist, actress, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records. However, she achieved only modest success. She found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as 'Respect', 'Chain of Fools', 'Think', '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman', 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)', and 'I Say a Little Prayer', propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as 'The Queen of Soul'.
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