August 16, 1998 Dorothy West, novelist and short story writer, died. Dorothy West was born June 2, 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts. She wrote her first story at the age of seven and at the age of 14 won several local writing competitions. In 1926, West tied for second place with Zora Neale Hurston in a […]
Archive | August 16, 2011
August 16th in African American History – Maxwell Lemuel Roach
August 16, 2007 Maxwell Lemuel Roach, jazz percussionist, drummer and composer, died. Maxwell Roach was born January 10, 1924 in Newland, North Carolina. At the age of 10, Roach was playing drums in gospel bands and by 18 he was playing in jazz clubs. Roach’s most significant innovations came in the 1940s when he devised […]