January 4, 1937 Grace Bumbry, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. At the age of 17, Bumbry won a competition singing the aria “O don fatale” but was denied the first-place prize scholarship to the local music conservatory because it did not accept black students.
Archive | January 4, 2012
January 4th in African American History – Willie Jeffries
January 4, 1937 Willie Jeffries, the first African American head football coach at a NCAA Division 1-A college, was born in Union, South Carolina. Jeffries began his coaching career at his alma mater, South Carolina State University, in 1973. In 1979, he became the head football coach at Division 1-A Wichita State University, a position […]