American basketball player Jayson Tatum was one of the best players in his school basketball team and played for the Duke University’s team, Duke Blue Devils, before being drafted by Boston Celtics of the NBA in 2017. Jayson Tatum is fast becoming one of Celtic’s most impactful player and also has the potential to become an NBA superstar.
The first to score over 7,000 points in the heptathlon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee is considered by many as one of the greatest female athletes ever. While in school, she excelled in sports such as volleyball, basketball, and track, and also did well in studies. She later won three Olympic golds medals.
Nigerian general Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was named Johnny Ironside after facing an angry mob of Congolese people during the Congo Crisis and releasing hostages from Katangese rebels. He reigned as Nigeria’s 1st military head of state. He was eventually assassinated by a few Northern Nigerian officers.
Jackie Mittoo was a Jamaican-Canadian songwriter, keyboardist, and musical director. He is best remembered for his association with the Studio One record label where he worked as a musical director. Jackie Mittoo is also remembered as one of the most important members of the popular ska band, The Skatalites.
Julius Malema is a South African activist and politician. He is credited with founding a South African political party called the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), for which he currently serves as the president and commander-in-chief. One of the most controversial politicians in South Africa, Malema was charged with racketeering, money laundering, and fraud in 2012.
Alexander Crummell was an African-American minister, African nationalist, and academic. He studied at the University of Cambridge with the support of abolitionists and developed the concepts of pan-Africanism while studying at the university. He worked towards educating Africans and spent 20 years in Liberia. He is also credited with founding St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
The current director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom is an Ethiopian politician who has previously led his country as its minister of health and minister of foreign affairs. He scripted history as the first African to head the WHO. He is known for his efforts in resisting AIDS, Ebola, and the COVID-19 pandemic.