Wilson "Serious" Myers (born Ernest Wilson Myers or Wilson Ernestine Myers, October 2, 1906 – July 10, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, baritone and bass saxophonist, vocalist, bandleader and arranger, best known for his contributions to New Orleans jazz. He also played trombone on a 1996 released album of Django Reinhardt recordings.
Edward Estis Holloway (June 12, 1908 – April 8, 1993) was a Philadelphia cardiologist who also served as the last elected city coroner.
Holloway was born in 1908 in Philadelphia, the son of Daniel Holloway and Margaret Estis Holloway. Daniel Holloway was a doctor, one of just a few African Americans practicing medicine at the time. As a boy, Holloway often accompanied his father as he made housecalls on horseback in Southwest Philadelphia. After graduating from Central High School and Howard University, the son followed his father into the medical profession. He interned at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., before returning to his hometown in 1937 and starting his own practice in North Philadelphia.He married Mildred Brazington in 1938, but they divorced in the early 1940s. In 1944, he married again, to Ruth Smart, a social worker. Holloway quickly became recognized as one of the top men in his field; despite a lack of formal post-graduate training, he was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1946. In 1950, he became the second black doctor ever elected to the American College of Physicians. In 1955, he was the first ever elected to the American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases.In 1953, Holloway married again, to Carmen Chisholm, with whom he later had two daughters, Michelle and Cheryl. That same year, he ran in the local election for Philadelphia city coroner as a Republican and won. He never took office, however, as the Democratic-majority City Council abolished several county offices, including coroner, and converted the jobs to civil service positions. Holloway and city treasurer Francis D. Pastorius filed suit to retain their offices, but were unsuccessful.Meanwhile, Holloway's medical career progressed as he rose from an instructor at Women's Medical College to a clinical associate professor of medicine. He also gained a reputation as an engaging speaker at medical conferences. He served as the final chief of staff at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and the only chief of staff at its successor, Mercy-Douglass Hospital.Holloway and his wife divorced in 1977. He married for the last time soon thereafter to Agatha Lawson. He continued to practice medicine until 1991, when he retired. Two years later, Holloway died at the age of 84 at Philadelphia's Graduate Hospital and was buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.
Yuri Cunza is an American social entrepreneur, media professional, journalist, visual artist, business leader, and community advocate. Cunza currently serves as President and CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and is founder and editor in chief of the Spanish language newspaper La Noticia and owner of Y&K a media support and consulting services company based in Nashville. In September 2018, Yuri Cunza was selected to serve on the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The USHCC is the largest Hispanic business organization in the United States. It was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Washington, DC. The chamber promotes the economic growth and development of entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 4.37 million Hispanic owned businesses in the US that contribute in excess of $700 billion to the American economy.
Yuri Cunza is co-founder of the NAHCC Foundation which was constituted in 2008 and exists to advance educational opportunities for Hispanic youth and to inspire children interest in future discoveries and technologies to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Cunza's humanitarian work includes his advocacy of finding a resolution for the socio-economic disparities of Hispanics in the U.S. He is also a member of the Tennessee Advisory Committee for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, The Partnership For A New American Economy, and in the Steering Committee of Main Street -TN Growth & Opportunity Coalition.
Jackie Ormes (August 1, 1911 – December 26, 1985) was an American cartoonist. She is known as the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the Torchy Brown comic strip and the Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger panel.
Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer.
As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just before her death in 1987. She is best known for her 1937 recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond". Throughout her career, Sullivan also appeared as a performer on film as well as on stage. A precursor to better-known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s. Singer Peggy Lee named Sullivan as a key influence in several interviews.
Samuel Felrath Hines Jr. (November 9, 1913 – October 3, 1993) was an African American visual artist and art conservator. Hines served as a conservator at several institutions, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and his paintings can be found in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
James Nyx Jr. (May 3, 1914 – July 16, 1998), sometimes credited as James Nyx, was an American songwriter for the Motown label. He co-wrote "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", which became a #9 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1971.
Nyx was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but moved to Detroit in the 1930s, where he married twice and raised a family of eight children. He supported them through jobs requiring menial labor. At one time he was a resident of the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, where notable figures such as Diana Ross grew up.His start in the music business was working as a janitor and handyman for Tri-Phi/Harvey Records, which was owned by the husband and wife team of Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy Fuqua, sister of Berry Gordy.He began to bring lyric ideas to Harvey, who collaborated with him on a few songs, including 1961's "Grieving About A Love," recorded by Lorri Rudolph. and 1963's "What Can You Do Now" recorded by Harvey and Ann.When Fuqua sold his labels to Motown Records in 1963, Nyx came along, signing to Jobete Music as a songwriter, but also working as a janitor and an elevator operator. He continued to write with Fuqua, and also Marvin Gaye, but most of his early songwriting work was shelved.In July 1970, Gaye produced a song for The Originals, a Gaye/Nyx composition called "We Can Make It Baby."Nyx's real breakthrough came a year later, when Gaye needed collaborators to help with lyrics for his next project, the sessions that became the landmark album What's Going On. Nyx co-wrote three tracks on the album, "What's Happening Brother," "God Is Love," and most famously, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)."
Motown left Detroit the following year, but Nyx did not go with them. He stayed and continued writing songs for a Detroit company named KellGriff Music. One such effort, 1974's "Outta My Life/I'm One Who Know" by the Brewster Crew on Lifeline records (T. Rodgers/J. Nyx Jr.) was arranged by David Van De Pitte, who famously did the orchestrations for "What's Going On."In the 1990s, samples of "Inner City Blues" were often used on R&B and rap records, providing Nyx with royalty income.
John E. Wilson (1927 – January 11, 2019), popularly known as Jumpin' Johnny Wilson, was an American basketball and baseball player. He gained his nickname for being the only player on his high school team able to dunk the basketball.
Gustavo L. "Gus" García (January 23, 1934 – December 17, 2018) was an American politician who served as the second Hispanic mayor of Austin, Texas.
