Award winning actor James Earl Jones was born Todd Jones on January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla Township, Tate County, Mississippi. His father, Robert Earl Jones, an actor, boxer, butler and chauffeur, deserted the family and young Todd, at age of five moved from his mother’s … Read MoreJames Earl Jones (1931- )
John W. Cooper was an African American ventriloquist, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1873. After losing both of his parents at a very young age, Cooper received his education at Professor Dorsey’s Institute in Brooklyn. There he developed into a budding entertainer and took … Read MoreJohn W. Cooper (1873-1966)
Richard Benjamin Moore, lecturer, author, political activist, and book dealer, was born in Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados, on August 9, 1893. He was born into a prosperous middle-class family, and attended James J. Lynch’s Middle Class School, a self-defined institution. His childhood experiences included very … Read MoreRichard Benjamin Moore (1893-1978)
Hubert Henry Harrison, author, lecturer, editor, and labor leader, was born in Concordia, St. Croix, Danish West Indies (now United States Virgin Islands) on April 27, 1883. Upon the completion of his elementary schooling in 1900, he moved to New York City, New York. There … Read MoreHubert Henry Harrison (1883-1927)
William L. Patterson, born in San Francisco on August 27th, 1891, was a Marxist lawyer, author, and civil rights activist. His mother had been born a slave on a Virginia plantation in 1850 and lived there until she was ten. Before the outbreak of the … Read MoreWilliam L. Patterson (1891-1980)
Douglas Turner Ward, an actor, director, and playwright, was considered a legend in African American theatre. Although he has achieved much during his lifetime, his co-founding of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) in 1968 ranks as his greatest achievement. NEC has spawned over 200 productions … Read MoreDouglas Turner Ward (1930- )
Theatre pioneer Woodie King Jr. is a director, actor, playwright, screen-writer, television scriptwriter, essayist, short-story writer, and consultant. Hailed as “the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre,” he was the most successful and prolific black producer in the world. For over 35 years, as founding director … Read MoreWoodie King, Jr. (1937- )
A veteran actor, playwright and film director, Ossie Davis, grew up in Waycross, Georgia and attended Howard University for three years before leaving to pursue an acting career in New York City with the Rose McClendon Players (1941-1942). Within a year he was inducted into … Read MoreOssie Davis (1917-2005)
Charles Gordone was born Charles Edward Fleming on October 12, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Camille Fleming. He took his stepfather’s surname of Gordon when his mother remarried when he was five years old. The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana, his mother’s … Read MoreCharles Gordone (1925-1995)
The Scottsboro Boys were nine young black men, falsely accused of raping two white women on board a train near Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931. Convicted and facing execution, the case of Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Eugene Williams, … Read MoreScottsboro Boys Trial and Defense Campaign (1931–1937)
