Notable Alumni of Dillard University

Andrew Young 1932–

American politician, diplomat and activist

Also attended: Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, Howard University

P. B. S. Pinchback 1837–1921

Governor of Louisiana, first African American governor

Sheila Tlou 1950–

Former Botswana health minister and nursing professor

Attended until 1974

Also attended: University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University in the City of New York

Khalid Abdul Muhammad 1948–2001

Black nationalist activist, Nation of Islam figure

Also attended: Pepperdine University

Carl E. Stewart 1950–

Judge on the US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Also attended: Loyola University New Orleans

John Hope Franklin 1915–2009

Historian, author of From Slavery to Freedom

Also attended: Harvard University, Duke University, Fisk University

Ruth Simmons 1945–

Academic; former Prairie View A&M University president

Also attended: Harvard University

Beverly Anderson 1943–

Mathematician, emeritus professor at UDC

Also attended: Catholic University of America

John Wesley Edward Bowen 1855–1933

Methodist clergyman and educator born into slavery

Also attended: Boston University

Gladys W. Royal 1926–2002

Early African-American biochemist

Attended until 1944

Also attended: Tuskegee University, Ohio State University-Main Campus

Garrett Morris 1937–

Actor, first Black cast member of Saturday Night Live

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Alice Dunbar Nelson 1875–1935

Poet, journalist and activist of the Harlem Renaissance

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania

Spouse: Henry Arthur Callis (Cornell University)

Spouse: Paul Laurence Dunbar (Howard University)

Beah Richards 1920–2000

Actress, poet and playwright

Ellis Marsalis Jr. 1934–2020

Jazz pianist and music educator

Also attended: Loyola University New Orleans

Child: Delfeayo Marsalis (University of Louisville, Berklee College of Music)

Child: Wynton Marsalis (The Juilliard School)

Margaret Walker 1915–1998

Poet and writer of the Chicago Black Renaissance

Also attended: Yale University, Northwestern University, University of Iowa

Jericho Brown 1976–

Poet and writer

Attended until 1998

Also attended: University of New Orleans, University of Houston

Harold Battiste 1931–2015

Music composer, arranger, performer and teacher

Eloise Bibb Thompson 1878–1927

Educator, playwright, poet and journalist

Also attended: Howard University

Autumn Knight 1980–

Interdisciplinary performance and installation artist

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University

Ted Ellis 1963–1986

Artist and former environmental chemist

George T. Johnson 1948–

NBA player across 13 seasons

Marlbert Pradd 1944–2014

American basketball player

Benjamin Mays 1894–1984

Baptist minister, educator and civil rights leader

Also attended: University of Chicago, Bates College, South Carolina State University

Stephen Bradberry 1966–

New Orleans community organizer