William Herbert Gray III was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 20, 1941. His mother, Hazel Yates Gray, was a high school teacher. His father, William Herbert Gray Jr. was a Baptist Minister and over his career, the president of two Florida colleges. Upon … Read MoreWilliam Herbert Gray III (1941-2013)
Two centuries ago Norbert Rillieux was born in Louisiana, the son of a wealthy French engineer and a black slave woman. As a free Creole born of privilege, Rillieux attended private Catholic schools, and later studied engineering in France. His education allowed him to become … Read MoreNorbert Rillieux (1806-1894)
Alan Dupree Wheat, the first black Congressman from Kansas City, Missouri, was born in San Antonio, Texas, on October 16, 1951. He attended schools in Wichita, Kansas, and in Seville, Spain, before graduating from Airline High School in Bossier City, Louisiana, in 1968. In 1972 … Read MoreAlan Dupree Wheat (1951- )
John Lovick is one of the most successful African American politicians in Washington state history. He has held a number of political positions at the state and county level and is currently a member of the Washington State House of Representatives for the 44th District … Read MoreJohn Lovick (1951- )
Oscar James Dunn was Louisiana’s first black lieutenant governor, serving from 1868 to 1871, and one of three who held that post in the state during the Reconstruction era. Dunn was born enslaved in New Orleans in 1826 to Maria Dunn who was also enslaved … Read MoreOscar J. Dunn (ca. 1825-1871)
Caesar Carpenter “C.C.” Antoine is best known as a leading African American politician in Louisiana during Reconstruction (1863-1877). Antoine was born in New Orleans to a Black father who fought the British as an American soldier at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and to … Read MoreCaesar Carpenter Antoine (1836-1921)
John Roy Lynch, congressman, soldier, and author was born in Concordia Parish, Louisiana on September 10, 1847 to Patrick Lynch, an Irish immigrant and Catherine White, a slave. Lynch’s father died soon after his birth. Lynch and his mother were then traded to a plantation … Read MoreJohn Roy Lynch (1847-1939)
Republican Charles Edmund Nash served in the 44th Congress as Louisiana’s only black representative. Nash was born in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, on May 23, 1844. Before his time in Congress, Nash attended common schools, was a bricklayer in New Orleans, and had enlisted … Read MoreCharles Edmund Nash (1844-1913)
Charles “Buddy” Bolden is said to be the first musician to play jazz music. While this is debatable, it is clear that Bolden’s music helped form the jazz movement. Bolden was born on September 6, 1877 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the age of six, … Read MoreBuddy Bolden (1877-1931)
Utilizing the research of Professor Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, historian William J. Zick in the article below provides vignettes which comprise an overview of various composers and musicians of African ancestry who performed in Europe, North America, and Latin America … Read MoreBlack Composers and Musicians in Classical Music History
