The Black Arts Movement was the name given to a group of politically motivated black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers who emerged in the wake of the Black Power Movement. The poet Imamu Amiri Baraka is widely considered to be the father of the … Read MoreThe Black Arts Movement (1965-1975)
Marion Williams, an American gospel singer, was born in Miami, Florida on August 29, 1927. Her father, originally from Nassau, Bahamas, worked as a butcher, a barber, and a music teacher while her mother, born in South Carolina, worked as a laundress. One of 11 … Read MoreMarion Williams (1927-1994)
After the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, open skirmishes took place between Southern slave catchers and Northern abolitionists who despised slavery and what they saw as its encroachments on the liberty and freedom of residents of the free states. Armed altercations and confrontations … Read MoreChristiana Riot of 1851
Billy Thomas Strayhorn was a black gay composer and arranger who influenced the American jazz movement with his pioneering efforts. While largely unknown in his lifetime, his complex arrangements and classical components continue to inspire generations of jazz musicians. His work has been translated into … Read MoreBilly Thomas Strayhorn (1915-1967)
Eileen Southern was among the first generation of musicologists focused on studying, preserving, and teaching the history and traditions of African American music. She was also the first female African American faculty member at Harvard University. Born Eileen Jackson in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920, her … Read MoreEileen Jackson Southern (1920-2002)
The Robert Charles Riots began when whites in New Orleans, Louisiana became infuriated after Robert Charles, an African-American, shot several white police officers on July 23, 1900. A manhunt for Charles began after he fled after an altercation with New Orleans police officers. The race … Read MoreRobert Charles Riots (1900)
Tensions leading up to the Civil War often manifested themselves through conflicts over the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue was one such instance of this. It was a struggle between supporters of slavery and supporters of freedom, the outcome of which would … Read MoreOberlin-Wellington Rescue (1858)
Hurricane Katrina began as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida, before striking the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. By the time Katrina had run its course, more than 1,700 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced. Causing billions of dollars of … Read MoreHurricane Katrina (2005)
Black Swan Records was the first black-owned recording company that sold popular music to black audiences. Black Swan Records specialized in jazz and blues recordings, but it also became the first company to record black classical musicians. During its brief existence from 1921 and 1923, … Read MoreBlack Swan Records (1921-1923)
Art Blakey, jazz drummer and band leader, was born Arthur William Blakey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1919. Blakey’s father, Burtrum, who worked as a barber, left his family when Blakey was a newborn. Blakey lost his mother, Marie Roddericker, before his second birthday. … Read MoreArt Blakey (1919-1990)
