September 13, 1926 – November 16, 2024. The Honorable Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. was a Black pioneer in four different fields: Foreign economic development, higher education, philanthropy and business. The first Black person to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Dr. Wharton was Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the nation’s largest pension fund with assets over $390 billion. When elected president of Michigan State University from 1970-78, he became the first Black person to lead a major predominantly white university in the United States.

August 6, 1924 – November 9, 2024. Ella Louise Jenkins, “the first lady of children’s folk song,” was born on August 6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, Jenkins loved all kinds of games, but adored those involving rhythm, movement and music. Despite never having any formal musical training. Jenkins became a first-rate composer and musician who plays the ukulele, the pipe organ, the harmonica and a wide variety of percussion instruments, in addition to singing.