March 18, 1938 Charley Frank Pride, country music singer, was born in Sledge, Mississippi. Pride’s initial love and life-long dream was to become a professional baseball player. However after a number of years in the minor leagues and several injuries, he turned to music. In 1966, Pride released “Just Between You and Me” which was [...]
"Academy Award"
Charles Young – March 12th in African American History
March 12, 1864 Charles Young, the third African American graduate of West Point, was born in Mayslick, Kentucky. After graduating from high school, Young taught at a black high school in Ripley, Ohio. In 1884, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1889. In 1903, he was appointed superintendent [...]
Barbara Charline Jordan – February 21st in African American History
February 21, 1936 Barbara Charline Jordan, the first African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives from a southern state, was born in Houston, Texas. Jordan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Texas Southern University in 1956 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Boston University in 1959. [...]
Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson – January 23rd in African American History
January 23, 1976 Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson, concert singer, scholar, stage and film actor, athlete, and multi-lingual orator, died. Robeson was born April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey. He won a full academic scholarship to Rutgers University, the third African American student accepted at Rutgers. Although he was the only black student on campus [...]
January 1st in African American History – Derrick Vincent Thomas
January 1, 1967 Derrick Vincent Thomas, hall of fame football player, was born in Miami, Florida. Thomas played collegiate football at the University of Alabama. In 1988, he was named an All-American and won the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in college football. Thomas was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1989 [...]
December 30th in African American History – Elias Otha Bates (Bo Diddley)
December 30, 1928 Elias Otha Bates (Bo Diddley), vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, was born in McComb, Mississippi. In 1934, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois where in the early 1940s Diddley began to perform. In 1954, he recorded “Bo Diddley” which became a number one R&B hit in 1955. He continued to have hits during [...]
December 22nd in African American History – Jerry Pickney
December 22, 1939 Jerry Pickney, award winning illustrator of children’s books, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pickney began drawing at the age of four and earned a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. After graduation, he held a number of positions in the field of design and illustration. Eventually he opened the Jerry [...]