STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Oldest African-American Dies at 114

Louisiana Hines, the world's oldest African-American, has passed away in Detroit at the age of 114.

When people asked Louisiana Hines her secret to living a long life, she would usually say "that she was living in God's hands, in God's time," her granddaughter Darlene House told the Detroit Free Press.

House was visiting Hines at her Detroit home, where she found her dead in bed Friday morning.

Hines was the oldest African-American in the world and, according to records from the U.S. Census Bureau, was born in April 1899, which made her 113, according to Robert Young of the Gerontology Research Group. But Hines' family follows the date on her birth certificate, which states she was born in April 1898.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Either way, Hines set records. Young said factoring her age at 113, Hines was the world's sixth oldest living person, the second oldest living American and oldest living African American, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She has been the oldest person in Michigan since March 7, 2010.

Young said Hines was just shy of making it into the 2014 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the world's top 10 oldest living people. The book's edition has a springtime deadline.

Young said [that] Hines' successor for the title of oldest living African American is believed to be a woman named Jeralean Talley, who is 113 and also lives in Michigan. He said the world's oldest person is Jiroemon Kimura, 115, of Japan.

Read the full story here.

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

(Photo: Fox News)

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.