John “Johnny” Royce Mathis, singer, was born in Gilmer, Texas on September 30, 1935, the fourth of seven children born to Clem, a chauffeur and handyman, and Mildred, a maid. The Mathis family moved to San Francisco, California‘s Fillmore District when Mathis was a young … Read MoreJohnny Mathis (1935- )
Ben Augustus Vereen, actor, singer, and dancer, was born on October 10, 1946, in Miami, Florida, but while still an infant his family moved north to Brooklyn, New York. From a young age, Vereen showed a talent in dancing and drama, often performing in local … Read MoreBen Vereen (1946- )
Actress Edna Mae Harris made a name for herself as a lead in underground films of the 1930s and 1940s, which depicted the life of the black bourgeoisie. Harris was born in Harlem, New York, in 1914 to Sam and Mary Harris. Her father was … Read MoreEdna Mae Harris (1914-1997)
Joel Fluellen, an instrumental figure in the fight to end Hollywood bias during the 1940’s and 1950’s, was born in 1908 in Louisiana. Prior to beginning his acting career, Fluellen resided in Chicago where he worked as a milliner and store clerk. After appearing on … Read MoreJoel Fluellen (1908-1990)
John Ritchey integrated the Pacific Coast League, the AAA-level minor baseball league on the West Coast, when he played as a San Diego Padre in 1948. The second-generation baseball player was born in 1923, in San Diego, California and was the youngest of nine children. … Read MoreJohn Franklin Ritchey (1923-2003)
Edward Park Duplex was elected mayor of Wheatland, California in 1888 to become one of the first African American mayors in the United States and the first in the American West. Born on May 13, 1831 in New Haven, Connecticut to Prince Jr. and Adaline … Read MoreEdward Park Duplex (1831-1900)
Arthur Dooley Wilson, best remembered for his popularization of the hit song “As Time Goes By” in the 1942 film classic Casablanca, was born in Tyler, Texas in 1886. Around 1913, he moved to Manhattan, New York, where he performed with the honorable James Reese … Read MoreArthur Dooley Wilson (1886-1953)
Blues, jazz, and folk musician Taj Mahal was born Henry St. Claire Fredericks in Harlem, New York on May 17, 1942. He was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts by musically gifted parents. Mahal’s father was a jazz musician and his mother a gospel singer. As a … Read MoreTaj Mahal (Henry St. Claire Fredericks) (1942- )
Best remembered for the role of Reverend Sykes in the film classic To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), William Walker was born in Pendleton, Indiana in 1917. The son of a freed slave, Walker was the first African American graduate of Pendleton High School. After graduating, … Read MoreWilliam Walker (1917-1992)
Etta Moten, a multifaceted pioneer in the world of entertainment, was born in Weimar, Texas in 1901. She was raised as the only child of her parents, Freeman Moten, a Methodist minister, and his wife Ida Mae Norman. In 1915, Rev. Moten moved to Kansas … Read MoreEtta Moten (1901-2004)
