Leighla Frances Whipper, author, songwriter, and restaurateur, was born on September 22, 1913 in Athens, Georgia into a prestigious family that encompassed the wide ranging areas of literature, theater, medicine, and social activism. Leighla was the daughter of the noted Hollywood actor Leigh Whipper and … Read MoreLeighla Frances Whipper (1913-2008)
Musician, clergyman and civil rights supporter Gloster B. Current was instrumental in the growth of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP, founded 1909). Born in 1913 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to John T. Current and Earsy Bryant, Gloster grew up Chicago and … Read MoreGloster B. Current (1913-1997)
William Attaway, writer and composer, was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His mother, Florence Parry Attaway, worked as a teacher and his father, William Alexander Attaway, was a doctor who helped create the National Negro Insurance Association. In the 1910s, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. … Read MoreWilliam Attaway (1911-1986)
Jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and cosmic philosopher Le Sony’r Ra, or Sun Ra, remains an influential and controversial figure in jazz history. He is largely remembered for his Astro Black Mythology that incorporated aspects of ancient Egyptian philosophy and science fiction, as well as his … Read MoreSun Ra/Le Sony’r Ra (1914-1993)
Powell Lindsay, actor, director, playwright, and producer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Virginia Union University as well as the Yale University School of Drama. At Yale, Lindsay became frustrated by the limited and often stereotypical African American roles presented by the School of … Read MorePowell Lindsay (1905-1987)
Bud Powell, jazz pianist, was born Earl Powell in New York City. His father, William Powell, worked as a building superintendent. Powell grew up surrounded by musicians, including his father, who played piano, his brother William, who played trumpet and violin, and his brother Richie, … Read MoreEarl “Bud” Powell (1924-1966)
The Miami Riot of 1980 was the first major race riot since the late 1960s. In December 1979, a number of white Miami-Dade (Florida) police officers were involved in a high-speed chase involving black motorist Arthur McDuffie. Police reports said that the chase ended when … Read MoreMiami (Liberty City) Riot, 1980
Taliaferro, the first black talk show host on a major American radio station, was born on February 7, 1939 and grew up in the Hunters Point district of San Francisco. His talk radio career began in 1967 at San Francisco’s KNEW station and shortly thereafter … Read MoreRaphael “Ray” Taliaferro (1939-2018)
Around 10 P.M. on Saturday, July 9, 1938, a mob (estimated by local paper to be two hundred strong) of white residents of Wapato, a small town in the Yakima Valley region of Washington State, instigated what the Yakima Morning Herald termed a “miniature race … Read MoreThe Wapato Race Riot, 1938
