International Lyric Spinto Soprano Ella Ruth Lee was born on June 10, 1933, to Winston Lee and Mary Ella Lee in Tyler, Texas. She was reared in Los Angeles and began piano lessons there. From 1947 to 1951, Lee was a student and member of … Read More … Read MoreElla Ruth Lee Romani (1933-2013)
Born 13 July 1913 in Akron, Ohio, Salaria Kee was orphaned in her infancy and raised by family and friends. After high school, she resolved to become a nurse but was denied by three nursing schools on account of her race. Leveraging connections to Eleanor … Read More … Read MoreSalaria Kee O’Reilly (1913-1991)
The Gnawa (sing. Gnawi) are an ethnic group and Islamic sect of West African-descent centered in Morocco who have become globally known for their use of music in liturgy. Beginning in the 11th century under Yusuf Ibn Ta, the Sultan of Morocco under the Ottoman … Read More … Read MoreThe Gnawa (Islamic Sect) (11th c.- )
Albert Cleage, jr., or Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, Black Nationalist and civil rights activist, was one of the most prominent black religious leaders in America. Agyemen preached a form of nationalism within the black community that stressed economic self-sufficiency and separation that relied on a religious … Read More … Read MoreAlbert Cleage Jr. (Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman) (1911-2000)
St. Maurice is commemorated throughout churches in modern Germany as a black African dressed as a Roman Solider. That depiction originated with the renowned statue in the Cathedral of St. Catherine and St. Maurice in Magdeburg, Germany. However, according to some historical authorities, he was … Read More … Read MoreSt. Maurice (ca. 250-ca. 287)
Born to James and Kate Price on February 10, 1927, in Laurel, Mississippi, Leontyne Price became one of the world’s leading opera sopranos and among the first African Americans to gain prominence in major performance halls in that musical genre. Her parents were amateur musicians … Read More … Read MoreMary Violet Leontyne Price (1927- )
Gloria Davy, a rich-voiced (lirico-spinto) soprano who “sang for the sheer joy of singing” had a four decade career as a concert singer. Early in her career she replaced Leontyne Price as Bess in the 1954 international tour of Porgy and Bess. In 1958 she … Read More … Read MoreGloria Davy (1931-2012)
Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia was born on April 29, 1876 as Askala Maryam in the city of Harrar in Enjersa Goro Province, Ethiopia. Her mother was Abechi, a Shewan noblewoman and her father was Menelik II, at that point the king of Shewa and the … Read More … Read MoreEmpress Zewditu (1876-1930)
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Eshetu Chole was Ethiopia’s leading economist prior to his death in 1998. His research and publications encompassed an extraordinary breadth: agriculture, industrial and social development, fiscal policy, macro- and microeconomics, and human development at national and regional levels. He was also a budding poet. Chole … Read More … Read MoreEshetu Chole (1945-1998)
