July 7, 1950 Theodore “Fats” Navarro, jazz trumpeter, died. Navarro was born September 24, 1923 in Key West, Florida. He began playing the piano at the age of six and the trumpet at 13. In 1946, Navarro moved to New York City and his career took off. He played in the bands of Billy Eckstine, […]
Archive | July, 2011
July 7th in African American History – Lisa Deshaun Leslie
July 7, 1972 Lisa Deshaun Leslie, retired women’s basketball player, was born in Gardena, California. By her senior year in high school, Leslie was considered the top female basketball player in the country. While playing for the University of Southern California, Leslie was named the National Freshman of the Year in 1991 and the National […]
July 6th in African American History – Curtis James Jackson, III (50 Cent)
July 6, 1975 Curtis James Jackson, III (50 Cent), rapper and actor, was born in Queens, New York. Jackson’s first official appearance was on a song titled “React” with the group Onyx in 1998. In 2000, he released the album, “Power of the Dollar.” Jackson’s breakthrough occurred with the 2003 release of the album “Get […]
July 6th in African American History – Harvey Fuqua
July 6, 2010 Harvey Fuqua, singer, songwriter, record producer, and executive, died. Fuqua was born July 27, 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1951, he formed a vocal group called the Crazy Sounds. Later they moved to Cleveland, Ohio and were renamed The Moonglows. The group recorded their first single in 1953 and their 1954 single […]
July 5th in African American History – Henry Lincoln Johnson
July 5, 1929 Henry Lincoln Johnson, soldier and recipient of several medals, died penniless and without official recognition from the United States government. Johnson was born in 1897 in Alexandria, Virginia and moved to Albany, New York in his early teens. Johnson enlisted in the army in 1917, joining the all-black New York National Guard […]
July 5th in African American History – Earl Shinhoster
July 5, 1950 Earl Shinhoster, civil rights leader, was born in Savannah, Georgia. Shinhoster got involved in the NAACP’s Savannah branch youth council at a young age and was president of the council at 16. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College in 1972 and later earned his Juris Doctor degree […]
July 4th in African American History – Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.
July 4, 2002 Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen, died. Davis was born December 18, 1912 in Washington, D. C. After attending the University of Chicago, Davis entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1932. Despite shunning by his classmates, never having a roommate, and being […]