Cicely Tyson (1924 – 2021) was an actress whose career lasted over half a century. After steadily building fame through her work on Broadway and in television, Tyson’s breakout role came in the 1972 movie Sounder, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Actress. During her career, she became notable for speaking out against the film and television industry’s reliance on stereotypes of African-Americans. 

In addition to Sounder, she gave memorable performances in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), Roots (1977), and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994). For her work, Tyson won three Emmys and a Tony Award. She was born in the Bronx to immigrant parents Fredericka and William Tyson. In August 1919, William Tyson arrived in New York on the Korona sailing from Nevis in what was then the British West Indies. 

Carmen Mcrae (1920 – 1994) is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century. Born in Harlem, New York City in 1920, McRae caught the attention of jazz artists such as Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson from a young age. In 1954, she was recruited by Milt Gabler of Decca Records, which launched her five-year association with the company. In the same year, McRae was voted Best New Female vocalist by DownBeat magazine.

Over the course of her career, she performed in jazz clubs and across the nation and sang with big talents such Duke Ellington and Sammy Davis Jr. She yielded seven Grammy nominations and in 1994, she was selected as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. Her father, Osmond McRae sailed on the Sixaola from Santiago de Cuba in May of 1917.  

William December Williams Jr. (1937 –), known professionally as Billy Dee Williams, is an American actor known for his many contributions to film and television, most famously for portraying Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise.

Throughout his career he has earned an Emmy nomination, an NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was born in New York City and began acting as a child, making his Broadway debut at seven years old in the 1945 production of The Firebrand of Florence. Through his mother, Loretta Anne Williams (nee Bodkin), Williams is of Montserratian ancestry. His grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1909, sailing from Panama on the ship Colon and arriving in New York.  

Lenny Kravitz (1964 –) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and designer. His discography, which includes hits such as It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over and Fly Away combines the influences of rock, hard rock, funk, reggae, soul, blues, and R&B. Among his many accolades are four Grammy awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, which he won back-to-back from 1999-2002. Kravitz is biracial; his mother is African American and Bahamian while his father is the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants.

He has spoken of the challenges he faced early in his career due to the insistence from record labels that his music was not “white enough” or “black enough” to be successful. Despite the pressure, Kravitz proudly embraces all sides of his identity in both his art and his life. Kravitz’s paternal grandfather, Isidor “Joseph” Kravitz, was born in the former Russian Empire and immigrated to New York as a child. He and his family sailed on Lapland and arrived in 1909. 

Affectionately known as America’s most trusted weatherman, Albert Lincoln “Al” Roker (1954 – ) has been the weather and feature anchor for NBC’s TODAY for thirty years. As well as presenting the daily forecast, Roker has reported live from some of the worst storms and natural disasters in recent history, including the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Superstorm Sandy. 

A native of Queens, New York, Roker is of Jamaican descent on his mother’s side and Bahamian on his father’s. His maternal grandmother, Leila Howden, immigrated from Kingston, Jamaica to New York in 1917 on the Tagus.