Art Blakey, jazz drummer and band leader, was born Arthur William Blakey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1919. Blakey’s father, Burtrum, who worked as a barber, left his family when Blakey was a newborn. Blakey lost his mother, Marie Roddericker, before his second birthday. … Read MoreArt Blakey (1919-1990)
Pitcher Juan Antonio Marichal, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco (California) Giants from 1960 to 1973, was first Dominican-born baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Marichal, nicknamed “The Dominican Dandy,” was born on October 20, 1937 in … Read MoreJuan Antonio Marichal (1937- )
Dexter Gordon was a pioneering jazz saxophonist who made a career of expertly blending rhythm and romance on the bandstand and the silver screen. Nicknamed “Long Tall Dex” for his 6-foot 5-inch frame, the Los Angeles, California native was born on Feb. 27, 1923. Gordon’s … Read MoreDexter Gordon (1923-1990)
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, located near Cheyney, Pennsylvania, was founded on February 25, 1837, making it the oldest predominantly African American institution of higher education in the United States. It was originally known as the African Institute was renamed the Institute of Colored Youth in … Read MoreCheyney University of Pennsylvania (1837- )
Political activist and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 24, 1954. Born Wesley Cook, he took the name Mumia (“Prince”) in high school while taking a class on African cultures. In 1971, he added Abu-Jamal (“father of Jamal”) after the birth … Read MoreMumia Abu-Jamal (1954- )
Rennie Harris, hip hop dancer, artist, teacher, artistic director, choreographer, and founder of Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1963. At the age of 15, Harris began teaching workshops and classes at universities around the country, educating the public of the … Read MoreLorenzo “Rennie” Harris (1963- )
In the speech below Angelina Grimke Weld, who was born to a prominent slaveholding family in Charleston, South Carolina, invites the women and men of Philadelphia to join her in the campaign against slavery. Men, brethren and fathers — mothers, daughters and sisters, what came … Read More(1838) Angelina Grimké Weld, “Speech in Pennsylvania Hall”
Image Ownership: Public Domain Louis Jordan, alto saxophonist, vocalist, and recording artist is considered by many to be an under-recognized trailblazer in the early foundations of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Jordan was one of the first African American musicians in the 1940s to crossover from the … Read MoreLouis Jordan (1908-1975)
Joseph Winters was born in 1816 in near Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) to James Winters, an African American brick maker who worked at the federal arsenal there, and a Shawnee Indian mother whose name is unknown. Winters was raised by his grandmother Betsy Cross in Waterford, Virginia. Cross … Read MoreJoseph W. Winters (1816-1916)
