A jazz pianist and bandleader, Count Basie was one of the leading musicians of the Big Band “Swing” era. His Count Basie Orchestra was formed in 1936, and featured singers such as Billie Holliday, and notable musicians including Lester Young, Jo Jones, and Walter Page. … Read MoreWilliam Allen (Count) Basie (1904-1984)
The life of the Reverend Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian is in many ways the story of the modern black freedom struggle. Vivian actively participated in the Nashville desegregation movement, Freedom Rides, Birmingham, Selma, Chicago, and other chapters of the fight for equal rights. Born Boonville, … Read MoreCordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian (1924-2020)
A director, actor and theatre administrator of the regional and professional stage, Frederick O’Neal was one of the chief architects of the American Negro Theatre (ANT) in Harlem, New York, in the 1940s. He was involved actively in professional theatre for over 40 years, between … Read MoreFrederick O’Neal (1905-1992)
Willard Johnson, bacteriologist, science educator, and business proprietor, was born in Leavenworth Kansas, the third of the eleven children of Joseph Johnson and Hattie McClanahan. Taught by his high school’s founder, Blanche Kelso Bruce, nephew of the Reconstruction era Senator of the same name, he … Read MoreWillard Johnson Sr. (1901-1969)
In 1925, Josephine Baker took Paris, France by storm, appearing on stage in “La Revue Negre” wearing nothing but a skirt of artificial bananas in Danse Sauvage. Born Josephine Freda MacDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906, she was nicknamed “Tumpy” because she … Read MoreJosephine Baker (1906-1975)
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
Clarence Thomas, the second African American to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, was born in Pin Point, Georgia, a small community south of Savannah. His mother, Leola Williams, a single parent, raised Thomas until he was seven. He and his brother, Myers, were sent … Read MoreClarence Thomas (1948- )
Junius G. Groves, a successful, self-educated farmer, landowner, and entrepreneur, became one of the most prosperous African American men in the early twentieth century. He was born enslaved on April 12, 1859 in Green County, Kentucky. His parents were Martin Groves and Mary Anderson Groves. … Read MoreJunius George Groves (1859-1925)
Born on February 6, 1898 in Moberly, Missouri, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson is known as one of the most significant African American modernist poets of his time. In addition, Tolson’s work as an educator led Langston Hughes to declare him “the most famous Negro Professor in … Read MoreMelvin B. Tolson (1898-1966)
Mervyn Malcolm Dymally, an African American politician from Los Angeles, California who has served in the California Assembly, the State Senate and as a U.S. Congressman. He is also the first African American Lt. Governor of California. Dymally is now once again in the California … Read MoreMervyn Dymally (1923- )
