March 6, 1923 John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery, jazz guitarist, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Montgomery started playing the guitar at the age of 19 and initially recorded with his two brothers as the Montgomery Brothers.
Archive | March, 2012
March 6th in African American History – Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson
March 6, 1936 Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson, singer, record producer, and record company executive and the mother of hip-hop, was born in New York City. Robinson began recording in 1950 under the name of Little Sylvia.
March 5th in African American History – Charles Henry Fuller, Jr.
March 5, 1939 Charles Henry Fuller, Jr., playwright and novelist, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fuller attended Villanova University before serving in the United States Army from 1959 to 1962. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from La Salle College in 1967 and was a co-founder of the Afro-American Arts Theater in Philadelphia that […]
March 5th in African American History – Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly
March 5, 1920 Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly, the first African American female Bishop in the United Methodist Church, was born in Washington, D.C. Kelly earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Union University in 1960 and her Master of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in 1976.
March 4th in African American History – Otis Frank Boykin
March 4, 1982 Otis Frank Boykin, inventor, died. Boykin was born August 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Fisk College in 1941. He pursued graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology, but had to drop out after two years because he was unable to afford tuition.
March 4th in African American History – Zenzile Miriam Makeba
March 4, 1932 Zenzile Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Makeba began her professional singing career in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional South African melodies.
March 3rd in African American History – Grafton Tyler Brown
March 3, 1918 Grafton Tyler Brown, lithographer and painter of the American West, died. Brown was born February 22, 1841 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Before he was 20, he moved to San Francisco, California where he established his own firm to produce illustrated bank notes, labels, maps, and stock certificates.