List of Howard University people

This list of Howard University people, sometimes known as Howardites, includes faculty, staff, graduates, non-graduate former students and current students of Howard University.

Howard University (HU) is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian historically black university (HBCU) located in Washington, D.C.

Academics

Science, Medicine & Mathematics

Patricia Bath

Alexander H. Darnes

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Alexander Darnes, MD	1880	born into slavery, owned by Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, second African-American physician in Florida, first in Jacksonville, Florida
Patricia Bath, MD		ophthalmologist, the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
David Blackwell, PhD		first African-American elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Beth A. Brown, PhD	1991	noted NASA astrophysicist, first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan's Department of Astronomy.
Cheick Modibo Diarra		astrophysicist, director of NASA's "Mars Exploration Program Education and Public Outreach," chairman of Microsoft West Africa.
Lena Franes Edwards, MD		physician (obstetrics and gynecology) and humanitarian, received Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964
Ruth Ella Moore, PhD		first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in bacteriology
E. Franklin Frazier		sociologist

University administrators

Charlene Drew Jarvis

Kelly Miller (scientist)

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Delbert Baker (Ph.D.)		president Oakwood College
John T. Baker		First African-American dean of the Albany Law School
Kenneth Clark		educator and pyschologist who conducted the 'doll research' for the Brown vs. Board of Education case
Charlene Drew Jarvis (Ph.D.)		president Southeastern University, daughter of Dr. Charles Drew
Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D.		first African-American president of Gannon University. Former Dean of College of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana
Edison O. Jackson		President of Medgar Evers College
Weldon Jackson		the current Provost and Executive Vice President of Manhattan College
Walter J. Leonard		former president of Fisk University; former Assistant Dean, Howard University School of Law and Harvard University Law School; executive director, Cities in Schools
Beverly D. Malloy		executive vice president, Barber-Scotia College
Marion Mann	1954	former Dean of the College of Medicine from 1970-1979
Kelly Miller	1886	mathematician, scientist, sociologist, first African-American admitted to Johns Hopkins University; Dean of Howard University's College of Arts and Sciences (1907-1919); established sociology department at Howard
R. Charles Moyer		dean emeritus Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University, fifth permanent dean of the University of Louisville's College of Business and Public Administration
Irvin Reid, Ph.D.		president Wayne State University
H. Patrick Swygert		president Howard University
Dr. Njeri Nuru-Holm		Vice-President, Office of Diversity, Cleveland State University
Dr. Thelma Barnaby Thompson		12th president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Dr. Heather Knight		21st President of Pacific Union College

Business

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Ben Ali		Co-founder and owner of Ben's Chili Bowl, the famous landmark restaurant in Washington, DC
H. Naylor Fitzhugh		one of the first African American graduates of Harvard Business School and is also credited with creating the concept of target marketing
Vernon Jordan		Attorney, Senior Managing Director with Lazard Freres & Co. LLC, former president of the Urban League
Oliver McIntosh		President and CEO of International Media Content, the largest sports rights company in the Caribbean
Dumarsais Simeus		owner Simeus Foods, International
Lillian Lincoln Lambert		Founder, Former President & Chief Executive Officer Centennial One, Inc.; first African-American woman to earn an MBA at Harvard Business School
Malaak Compton-Rock		founder The Angelrock Project,incorporater of styleWORKS organization, and creator and manager of Champions for Children Committee. Compton-Rock is the wife of comedian Chris Rock and was highlighted for her work in the lives of African- Americans on CNN's "Black in America II"

Politics and public service

Civil Rights, Law & Government

Edward Brooke

Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Elijah Cummings

David Dinkins

Mike Espy

Adrian Fenty

Harold Ford, Sr.

Thurgood Marshall

Gregory W. Meeks

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Malik Zulu Shabazz

L. Douglas Wilder

Walter Washington

Andrew Young

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Aris T. Allen		former member Maryland State Senate, first African-American to run for Lt. Governor of Maryland
Boce W. Barlow, Jr.		first African-American to be elected to the Connecticut State Senate.
William V. Bell		mayor of Durham, North Carolina
Adolphus A. Birch		first African-American to serve as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Aisha N. Braveboy		member, Maryland House of Delegates
Percival Broderick		Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica
Edward Brooke		first African-American elected to the United States Senate
Gayleatha Brown		Ambassador to Benin
Hon. Ewart Brown	(1968, School of Medicine 1972)	Premier and Minister of Tourism and Transport of Bermuda
Arthur L. Burnett, Sr.		Senior Judge currently Judge Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Roland Burris		United States Senator, fmr. State Attorney General and Comptroller, Illinois
Robert L. Carter	(School of Law)	civil rights advocate and judge of the United States District Court
Walter Percival Carter		civil rights advocate
Mary Ann Shadd Cary		first black woman to cast a vote in a national election
Elijah Cummings		United States Congress
David Dinkins		first African-American mayor of New York City
Herbert B. Dixon, Jr.		Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia
George W. Draper III		first African-American Chief Judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District, first African-American male to be appointed a judge in St. Louis
Mike Espy		first African-American United States Secretary of Agriculture
Melvin Evans		former Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, former Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands to the United States House of Representatives
Nathaniel Exum		member, Maryland State Senate
James L. Farmer		civil rights activist, founder and first leader of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Adrian Fenty	(School of Law)	former mayor of Washington, D.C.
Wilkie D. Ferguson	(School of Law)	judge who served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal as well as the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
Harold Ford, Sr.		former United States Representative from Tennessee
Shirley Franklin		first female and current mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
Darrin P. Gayles		Judge, Miami-Dade County Court
Emma Gillett		co-founder of the first law school in the world founded by women, first woman to be appointed notary public by the President of the United States
John R. Hargrove, Sr.		Judge, United States District Court Maryland
Oliver Harper		Minister of Health, Guyana
Kamala Harris		Attorney General of California
Patricia Roberts Harris		United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, United States Ambassador
Joseph W. Hatchett		Former Florida Supreme Court Judge, first African-American in the south to win a statewide election
Earl F. Hilliard		United States Congress
Dr. James W. Holley, III, D.D.S.		mayor of Portsmouth, Virginia
Benjamin Hooks		former executive director of the NAACP
Lonna Hooks		Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1994 to 1998, under Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman
Hutchins F. Inge	(School of Medicine)	first African-American to serve in the New Jersey Senate
Hon. Louise A. Jackson	1952	Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for Health and Seniors Bermuda (2003-present); founder of Bermuda's first school of dance, Jackson School of the Performing Arts; author, The Bermuda Gombey: Bermuda's Unique Dance Heritage
His Excellency Cheddi Jagan		President, Guyana
Jack B. Johnson		former County Executive, Prince George's County, MD.
William A. Johnson, Jr.		mayor, Rochester, NY.
Elaine R. Jones		former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Hon.John Junor		Minister of Health, Jamaica
Sharon Pratt Kelly		first African-American female mayor of a major city, Washington, D.C.
Hon. Keith Knight		Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Jamaica
Peta Lindsay		Anti-war activist and candidate for President of the United States with the Party for Socialism and Liberation
Thurgood Marshall	(School of Law)	first African-American United States Supreme Court justice
Rudolph C. McCollum		former mayor, Richmond, Virginia
Gabrielle McDonald		judge Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, The Hague, Netherlands
Enolia McMillan		first female national president of the NAACP
Gregory W. Meeks		Representative for New York's sixth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives
Vicki Miles-LaGrange		District Judge, Western district of Oklahoma, first African-American woman U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, first African-American woman elected to the Oklahoma Senate.
Dr. Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell		Ph.D. Prime Minister of Grenada
Thomas R. Monroe		first African-American judge in Arlington County, VA.
Brandon T. Neal		national director of the NAACP Youth and College Division. Finance Director, African-American Affairs for Obama for America Presidential Campaign.
James E. O'Hara		member, United States House of Representatives (1883 to 1887) representing North Carolina.
Ronald Palmer		Ambassador to Togo, Malaysia and Mauritius
Adam Clayton Powell IV		Member of the New York State Assembly. Son of Civil Rights leader - Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Eugene Puryear		Anti-war activist and candidate for Vice President of the United States with the Party for Socialism and Liberation
Hon. Peggy Quince		the first African American woman on Florida Supreme Court
Charlotte E. Ray		the first African American woman lawyer
Kasim Reed		Mayor of Atlanta
Spottswood Robinson	(School of Law)	judge, United States Court of Appeals
J. Todd Rutherford		South Carolina State Representative
Roy Schneider		Governor United States Virgin Islands
His Excellency Sir Arleigh Winston Scott		first native Governor-General of Barbados
Malik Zulu Shabazz		Attorney and the National Chairman of the New Black Panther Party
Thomas S. Smith		former mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey who served in the New Jersey General Assembly.
James R. Spencer		Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Craig S. Strong		Michigan Third Circuit Court judge
Emmet G. Sullivan		Judge of United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Kwame Ture		activist, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), born Stokely Carmichael
Dale Wainwright		first African American ever elected to the Texas Supreme Court
Walter Washington		first elected mayor of Washington, D.C.
L. Douglas Wilder	(School of Law)	first elected African-American United States governor, current Mayor of Richmond, Virginia
Harris Wofford		United States Senator representing Pennsylvania (1991-95)
Albert Wynn		first African-American elected to the United States Congress from Prince George's County and Montgomery County in Maryland
Andrew Young		first African-American United Nations Ambassador and former mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
Gerard Robinson		Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia

Military service

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.		Brigadier General, first African-American general in the U.S. Army
Lester Lyles		General, U.S. Air Force, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Commander, Air Force Material Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
Togo West		former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, former Secretary of the Army

Entertainment

Athletics

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Ronald Bartell		NFL cornerback (Saint Louis Rams)
Milan Brown		head men's basketball coach at Mount Saint Mary's University
Marques Douglas		NFL defensive end (New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco Forty-Niners)
Omar Evans		Canadian Football League defensive end (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders)
Dennis Felton		head men's basketball coach at the University of Georgia
Dr. Rhadi Ferguson	1997	4-time US National Judo Champion, a 2004 Judo Olympian, only Male and African American Male with a Ph.D. to fight on a internationally televised Mixed Martial Arts Event - Strikeforce Challengers 13. Current MMA Fighter for Strikeforce
Pep Hamilton		quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears
Shaka Hislop		goalkeeper for FC Dallas and Trinidad and Tobago national football team who played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Gary Harrell		current head coach of Howard Bison football team, former NFL/WLAF wide receiver (New York Giants and Frankfurt Galaxy), former assistant coach at Texas Southern University
Nigel Henry		professional soccer player
Edward P. Hurt		Morgan's legendary football, basketball and track coach
Bubba Morton		Major League Baseball player, (Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, California Angels), first African-American to sign with the Detroit Tigers
David Oliver		professional athlete-track and field
Marques Ogden		former NFL offensive lineman
Jay Walker		ESPNU Football analyst, NFL quarterback (New England Patriots, 1994; Barcelona Dragons, 1995; Minnesota Vikings, 1996-97), Maryland State Delegate
Billy Jenkins		former National Football League Defensive Back
Antoine Bethea		NFL safety (Indianapolis Colts)
Geoff Pope		NFL cornerback (New York Giants)
Larry Spriggs		former NBA player
Milt Thompson		former Major League Baseball player, hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies
Andrae Townsel		Professional Football Player, former member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Washington Redskins
Tracy White		current NFL linebacker
Steve Wilson	1979	former NFL defensive back, former head football coach of the Howard University and former head coach at Texas Southern University

Journalist and news media personalities

Gus Johnson

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Leon Dash		Pulitzer Prize Winner, Washington Post
Lesli Foster		television anchor, WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.
Hal Jackson		first African-American radio sportscaster; co-owner of the first African-American owned and operated station in New York
Michael King		conservative commentator; television producer, WXIA-TV Atlanta
Gus Johnson		sportscaster, CBS Sports
Vicki Mabrey		CBS News, 60 Minutes correspondent-New York
Michelle Miller		reporter, CBS News
Steve Wyche		sports journalist for the NFL Network
Pat Lawson Muse		television anchor, WRC-TV Washington, D.C.
Cynne Simpson		television anchor, WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C.
Lori Stokes		News anchor, WABC-TV, New York
Kellye Lynn		News anchor, WJZ-TV, Baltimore
Tom Terrell	1972	Music journalist, photographer, promoter, NPR music commentator
La La Vasquez		on-air personality
Stan Verrett		reporter, ESPNEWS
Fredricka Whitfield		Anchor, CNN
Michelle Bernard		political/legal analyst, MSNBC, The McLaughlin Group
Nancy Anita Williams		journalist and editor (Essence, Washington Post, New York Daily News)
Colbert King		Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Washington Post
Victor Blackwell		television anchor, WPBF25-TV, West Palm Beach

Nobel laureates

Peace, Literature, or Economics

Toni Morrison

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Toni Morrison		born Chloe Anthony Wofford, Nobel Prize for Literature; Pulitzer Prize Winner

Literature

Zora Neale Hurston

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Pearl Cleage		poet, essayist, and journalist
Ta-Nehisi Coates		author and journalist
Dr. William Jelani Cobb		author, historian, professor & journalist
Karl D. Darmstädter		German literature
Zora Neale Hurston		anthropologist and author
Benilde Little		author
Gloria Oden	BA: 1944, JD: 1948	Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet, professor
Solomon Mutswairo		novelist and poet
Valerie Wilson Wesley		author
Omar Tyree		award-winning novelist
May Miller		poet and playwright of the Harlem Renaissance;

Musicians

Sean Combs

Roberta Flack

Richard Smallwood

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Geri Allen		jazz pianist
Ysaye M. Barnwell		member of a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, actress, author.
James A. Bland		musician and composer. Author of over 700 songs including the former state song of Virginia.
Donald Byrd		jazz musician
Sean Combs		music producer, also known as "Puffy", "P. Money", "Puff Daddy", "P. Diddy", and "Diddy"
Cora Coleman-Dunham		percussionist, currently tours with Prince
Billy Eckstine		singer
Lillian Evanti		opera singer
Roberta Flack		singer
Benny Golson		jazz saxophone
Rich Harrison		Grammy winning record producer and song writer
Eric Roberson		singer
Donny Hathaway		singer
Shirley Horn		jazz singer and pianist
Bill Hughes	1952	jazz trombonist, director of the Count Basie Orchestra
Marcus Johnson		jazz pianist
Kenny Lattimore		singer, ex-husband of singer Chante Moore
Linda Lou McCall		songwriter and entertainment marketing consultant, widow of Louis A. McCall, drummer and founder of Con Funk Shun
Meshell Ndegeocello		recording artist (singer & bassist)
Jessye Norman		opera singer, received Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006
Sadat X		rapper, member of hip hop group Brand Nubian
Darnley Scantlebury		Grammy nominated music producer, musician and songwriter, a/k/a, Donnie Scantz
Shai		Band - "If I Ever Fall in Love"
Richard Smallwood		Grammy award-winning gospel singer, pianist, and arranger
Crystal Waters		singer, 100% Pure Love, Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)
Angela Winbush		singer

Pageant queens

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Danielle Jones		Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 2004, 4th Runner-up at Miss Universe 2004
Candace Allen		Miss District of Columbia USA 2006
Crystal L. Bailey	2006	Miss Black Virginia America 2009
Chelsey Rodgers		Miss District of Columbia USA 2008; Miss District of Columbia International 2010
Christie Davis		Miss Maryland USA - 2000
Shauntay Hinton		Miss USA 2002
Amanda Lewis	2005, 2008	Miss Black District of Columbia USA 2008; Miss District of Columbia International 2009
Alena Neves		Miss District of Columbia USA - 1993
Shilah Phillips		first African-American to hold the Miss Texas title, first runner-up Miss America 2007
Shayna Y. Rudd	2007	Miss District of Columbia America 2008
Von Gretchen Shepard		first Miss Black California and first Miss Black America (1973)
Lisa Summerour		Miss New Jersey USA(1986)
Heather Swann		Miss District of Columbia USA - 2011

Television and film

Ambre Anderson

Anthony Anderson

Ossie Davis, 1951

Phylicia Rashad

Roxie Roker

Isaiah Washington

Marlon Wayans

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Ambre Anderson	1997	model, actress
Ossie Davis		actor and activist
Ernest Dickerson		filmmaker and director (Director), "The Wire"
Dianne Houston		Oscar-nominated filmmaker
Ananda Lewis	1995	talk show host (BET,The Ananda Lewis Show)
Freddie Perren	1966	Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer ("Saturday Night Fever")
Malik Hassan Sayeed		Filmmaker
Al Shearer		Former BET Personality and actor
Richard Wesley	1967	playwright and screenwriter
Debbie Allen		dancer, actress, producer/director of "A Different World" from 1987 to 1993.
Laz Alonso		actor ("Stomp the Yard", "Jarhead", "Jumping The Broom", "This Christmas", "Avatar")
Anthony Anderson		actor ("Two Can Play that Game," "Barbershop," "Kangaroo Jack," "The Shield," "Law & Order.")
Wendy Davis		actress Lifetime Television "Army Wives"
Taraji P. Henson		Academy award nominated actress for the "Curious Case of Benjamin Button". She now stars in the CBS hit show "Person of Interest", has also starred in "Baby Boy", "Hustle and Flow","Something New", "Smokin Aces", "Talk To Me", "Not Easily Broken", "The Karate Kid" (2010 Release).
Keke Palmer		actress ("True Jackson, VP")
Paula Jai Parker		actress ("Friday", "Hustle and Flow", "Idlewild")
Carl Anthony Payne II		actor ("The Cosby Show, "Martin")
Shauneille Perry	1950	stage director, playwright and educator
Tracie Thoms		actress ("Rent-The Movie", "The Devil Wears Prada", "Grindhouse")
Phylicia Rashad		actress (The Cosby Show, "Raisin In The Sun", "The Old Settler", "The Wiz"), first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play ("Raisin In The Sun")
Roxie Roker	1952	actress, ("The Jeffersons"), also Lenny Kravitz's mother
Lance Gross		actor, ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne)
Wendy Raquel Robinson		actress, ("The Steve Harvey Show", "The Game", "Two Can Play That Game", "Something New")
Isaiah Washington		actor, ("Get On The Bus", "Love Jones", "Grey's Anatomy")
Marlon Wayans		actor ("Little Man", "White Chicks")
Stacie Scott Turner		"The Real Housewives of D.C." Entrepreneur (Real Estate) and Marketing professional (Proctor & Gamble, BET). Started her own charity (Extra-Ordinary Life)
Lynn Whitfield		Emmy award-winning actress, ("The Josephine Baker Story", "Stompin' At The Savoy", "Thin Line Between Love & Hate", "Head of State", "Eve's Bayou")
Vantile Whitfield	1957	Director, playwright, production designer and influential arts administrator.
Karen Malina White		actress, ("The Cosby Show," "A Different World," "Malcolm & Eddie," "Lean On Me")

Other visual and performing arts

Amiri Baraka

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Amiri Baraka		author and poet
Paul Laurence Dunbar		late 19th century poet
Elizabeth Catlett		sculptor and printmaker
Lois Mailou Jones		Pierre-Noel, artist and educator
Alma Thomas		painter
Mildred Thompson		painter, printmaker and sculptor

Religion

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Louis George Gregory		Hand of the Cause in the Bahá'í Faith
Leroy Gilbert		Chaplain of the United States Coast Guard
Beryl Higgs		second woman to be ordained by the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas
Vashti Murphy McKenzie		first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Jeremiah Wright	1968	former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ

Other notable alumni

Name	Class year	Notability	References
Doris Evans McGinty		first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in musicology from Oxford University

Notable Faculty

Name	Department	Notability	Reference
Sterling Brown		writer, teacher, literary critic, poet laureate for Washington, D.C., professor 1929- around 1969
Dr. Clive Callender		one of the foremost specialists in organ transplant medicine in the United States. Professor at Howard University College of Medicine, 1973- present.
John Mercer Langston	Law	First African American Dean, Howard Law, Congressman
Alain Locke		Professor - African American writer, philosopher, educator
Merze Tate		first African-American graduate of Western Michigan College, first African-American female to attend Oxford, first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in government and international relations from Harvard University, one of the first women members of the Department of History at Howard University, expert in diplomatic history, professor 1942-77
Emory Tolbert	History	African American historian, archivist and activist; initiated New York Burial Ground Project
Eric Williams		The First Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He was also instrumental in them gaining their independence. He was a noted Caribbean historian, and a Howard professor from1939- 1944.