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This is a list of notable alumni of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Notable alumni

Academics

• Ezekiel Ezra Smith (A.B. 1878), president of Fayetteville State University and U.S. Ambassador to Liberia (1888–1890). ^[1]
• Edward Hart Lipscombe (A.B. 1879, A.M. 1882), educator, minister, principal of the Western Union Institute.^{[ citation needed]}
• Charles L. Purce, (A.B.) president of Selma University and Simmons College of Kentucky. ^[2]
• James B. Dudley (A.B. 1881), professor and president of North Carolina A&T State University (1896–1925). ^[3]
• Peter Weddick Moore (A.B. 1887), founder and first president of Elizabeth City Normal College, (now Elizabeth City State University). ^[4]
• James E. Shepard (A.B. 1894), founder and first president of North Carolina Central University. ^[5]
• John O. Crosby (1914), founder and first president of North Carolina A&T State University. ^[6]
• Benjamin Arthur Quarles (B.A. 1931), historian, administrator, scholar, educator, and writer. ^[7]
• James E. Cheek (B.A. 1955), president of Shaw University, president emeritus of Howard University, 1983 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. ^[8]
• William L. Pollard (B.A. 1967), president of the Medgar Evers College (2009–2013).^{[ citation needed]}

Arts and entertainment

• Shirley Caesar (B.S. 1984), pastor and gospel music artist. ^[9]
• Gladys Knight (B.A. 1966 and honorary doctorate), singer, Gladys Knight & the Pips, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received Honorary Doctorate. ^[10]
• Alyssa Lane (B.A. 2012), professional wrestler performing in WWE as Kayden Carter.
• Lords of the Underground (attended), hip-hop group that was founded in the early 1990s, when all three of its members were students attending Shaw University. ^[11]

Business

• Calvin E. Lightner (1907 or 1908), architect and mortician. ^[12]
• Ida Van Smith (1939), one of the first African American female pilots and flight instructors in the United States. ^[13]
• Lee Johnson (1975), president & CEO of Mechanics & Farmers Bank. ^[14]
• Celeste Beatty (1984), first black female brewery owner. ^[15]
• Willie Otey Kay (1912), prominent dressmaker in Raleigh
• William Gaston Pearson (1886), prominent principal, colloquially referred to as "Durham's Black Superintendent", in Durham, NC, and co-founder of Mechanics & Farmers Bank. ^[16]

Civil rights

• Max Yergan (1914), civil rights activist; Spingarn Medal recipient. ^[17]
• Ella Baker (1927), leader of SNCC and civil rights activist. ^[18]
• Eleanor Nunn, Ph.D., Civil rights activist (one of founders of SNCC) and educator, North Carolina State University.

Government

• Edward A. Johnson (B.L. 1891), first African-American member of the New York state legislature when he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1917. ^[19]
• Col. James H. Young, prominent North Carolina politician and first African American to hold the rank of colonel in the United States of the volunteer regiment during the Spanish–American War. ^[20]
• Henry Plummer Cheatham (A.B. 1882), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1889 to 1893. ^[21]
• Adam Clayton Powell Jr., (D.D. 1934), Congressman from New York, 1945–71. ^[22]
• Angie Brooks (B.S. 1949), first African female President of the United Nations General Assembly and Associate Justice to the National Supreme Court of Liberia. ^[23]
• George H. Jackson, Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1892 to 1893 ^[24]
• Rita Walters (1952), member of Board of Library Commissioners for the Los Angeles Public Library. ^[25]
• Vernon Malone (1953), Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, 14th Senate district, including constituents in Wake County. ^[26]
• Charles D. Walton (B.A. 1971), first African-American member of the Rhode Island Senate. ^[27]
• Luther Jordan (B.A. 1997), member of the North Carolina Senate from 1993 to 2002. ^[28]
• Thomas O. Fuller State senator of the North Carolina Senate in 1898 ^[29]

Law

• Roger Demosthenes O'Kelly (B.L. 1909), lawyer, first deaf and black lawyer. ^[30]
• Glenford Eckleton Mitchell (B.A. 1960), member of Universal House of Justice (1982–2008). ^[31]
• Willie E. Gary (B.A. 1971), one of the world's wealthiest attorneys, known as the "Whale Killer" and co-founder of the Black Family Channel. ^[32]

Journalism

• Lenard Moore (B.A. 1980), first African American President of the Haiku Society of America. ^[33]
• Shelia P. Moses (B.A. 1983), best selling author, nominated for the National Book Award & NAACP Image Award. ^[34]

Religion

• Richard Gene Arno, founder of the National Christian Counselors Association.
• William R. Pettiford (1912 honorary), Birmingham, Alabama minister and banker.
• Lucius Walker (1954), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba. ^[35]

Science and medicine

• Louise Celia Fleming (1885) black medical missionary (1862-1899). ^[36]
• Manassa Thomas Pope (1885), prominent physician in Raleigh; ran for mayor in 1919. ^[37]
• Dr. John Eagles, pharmacy owner in Raleigh, North Carolina and son of John S. W. Eagles, sergeant in U.S.C.T., public official, and state legislator in North Carolina

Sports

• Carrenza M. "Schoolboy" Howard, Negro Leagues pitcher
• Charlie Brandon (1964), Grey Cup champion and all-star CFL football player. ^[38]
• Van Green (1973), NFL player. ^[39]
• James "Bonecrusher" Smith (B.A. 1975), first heavyweight boxing champion with a college degree. ^[40]
• Ronald "Flip" Murray (2002), professional basketball player. ^[41]
• Julius Gregory (2011), Arena Football League player. ^[42]

Presidents of Shaw University

References