November 10, 2007 Augustus Freeman Hawkins, the first African American to represent California in Congress, died. Hawkins was born August 31, 1907 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California in 1931. In 1935, he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served until 1963.
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November 9th in African American History – Pack Robert Bob Gibson
November 9, 1935 Pack Robert “Bob” Gibson, baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite a childhood filled with medical problems, Gibson was active in sports and won a basketball scholarship to Creighton University.
November 9th in African American History – Roger Arliner Young
November 9, 1964 Roger Arliner Young, the first African American woman to receive a doctorate degree in zoology, died. Young was born in 1899 in Clifton Forge, Virginia and raised in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University in 1923 and her master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1926.
November 8th in African American History – Alfre Ette Woodard
November 8, 1952 Alfre Ette Woodard, film and television actress, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woodard’s film appearances include “Cross Creek” (1983), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996), and “Down in the Delta” (1998). She has also appeared in a number of television […]
November 8th in African American History – Ivory Joe Hunter
November 8, 1974 Ivory Joe Hunter, R&B singer, songwriter and pianist, died. Hunter was born October 10, 1914 in Kirbyville, Texas and was a talented pianist by the age of 13. In the mid-1940s, he wrote and recorded his first song, “Blues at Sunrise,” which became a minor hit.
November 7th in African American History – Willis Richardson
November 7, 1977 Willis Richardson, playwright, died. Richardson was born November 5, 1889 in Wilmington, North Carolina but raised in Washington, D. C. In 1921, Richardson staged his first play, “The Deacon’s Awakening.” This was followed by “The Chip Woman’s Fortune” (1922), “Mortgaged” (1923), “The Broken Banjo” (1925), and “Bootblack Lover” (1926).
November 7th in African American History – Deval Patrick
November 7, 2006 Deval Patrick was elected the first African American Governor of Massachusetts and the second African American governor in the United States. Patrick was born July 31, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois and while in middle school was referred to A Better Chance, a national organization for developing leaders among academically gifted students of […]