Monroe Nathan Work, a leading early 20th Century sociologist, was born on August 15, 1866 to his ex-slave parents in Iredell County, North Carolina. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Cairo, Illinois where Monroe’s father worked as a tenant farmer. They aspired to … Read MoreMonroe Nathan Work (1866-1945)
Boxer and singer Bo Diddley (birth name Ellas Bates McDaniel), was born on December 30, 1928 in McComb, Mississippi. He was adopted by his mother’s cousin when the mother’s husband died in the mid 1930s. McDaniel moved her family to Chicago where young Ellas took … Read MoreBo Diddley (1928-2008)
James A. Bland was an entertainer and a prolific composer who wrote sentimental songs about the American South for use in minstrel shows. Bland was born in Flushing, New York on October 22, 1854 to educated, free parents. He briefly studied at Howard University in … Read MoreJames A. Bland (1854-1911)
Calloway Jr. and Martha Eulalia Reed in Rochester, New York. Calloway was raised in Baltimore, Maryland and in high school he sung with a group called the Baltimore Melody Boys. Calloway attended Crane College in Chicago for pre-law but soon abandoned his studies for a … Read MoreCab Calloway (1907-1994)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Luther Porter Jackson was a leading teacher, historian, and active voice of the history of African Americans in the South. Jackson was born in Lexington, Kentucky of former slave parents, Edward and Delilah Jackson, the ninth of twelve children. He attended … Read MoreLuther Porter Jackson (1892-1950)
Shuffle Along, a musical comedy by composer Eubie Blake and lyricist Noble Sissle which featured an all-black cast, was the most significant achievement in black theatre of its time. Shuffle Along opened at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., in late March, 1921 for two … Read MoreShuffle Along (1921)
It may be impossible today to understand fully the shock and outrage which alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman’s 1959 arrival in New York caused within the jazz community. Coleman’s innovations freed his quartet from traditional structures of form, chordal harmony, tonality, and rhythm, and though his … Read MoreOrnette Coleman (1930-2015)
Berry Gordy, Jr. was born November 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, the seventh of eight children to Bertha Fuller Gordy and Berry “Pops” Gordy, Sr. The Gordy parents were strict disciplinarians who encouraged their children to demonstrate a good work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit. … Read MoreBerry Gordy, Jr. (1929- )
Public Enemy, the rap group from Long Island, New York, is one of the most influential groups in the emerging genre of rap music. Borrowing heavily from the rhetoric of black power, a generation earlier, the group achieved both commercial and critical success. Public Enemy … Read MorePublic Enemy
Def Jam Records, created by hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons, is one of the most successful black-owned record labels in the history of the United States. Its success and influence on music and popular culture are paralleled only by Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s. … Read MoreDef Jam Records (1984- )
