November 18, 1956 Harold Warren Moon, hall of fame football player, was born in Los Angeles, California. Although Moon was a star high school quarterback, none of the major colleges were interested in him as a quarterback therefore he enrolled in West Los Angeles College where he set a number of records. Based on that […]
About Chimsima Zuhri
November 18th in African American History – Cabell “Cab” Calloway III
November 18, 1994 Cabell “Cab” Calloway III, jazz singer and bandleader, died. Calloway was born December 25, 1907 in Rochester, New York. After graduating from high school, Calloway joined his sister in a touring production of the black musical revue “Plantation Days.” In 1930, he assumed leadership of his orchestra and they became the co-host […]
November 14th in African American History – Booker Taliaferro Washington
November 14, 1915 Booker Taliaferro Washington, educator, author and political leader, died. Washington was born enslaved on April 5, 1856 on the Burroughs Plantation in Virginia. His family gained their freedom at the end of the Civil War and Washington was educated at Hampton Institute and Wayland Seminary. In 1881, Washington was appointed the first […]
November 14th in African American History – Mabel Fairbanks
November 14, 1916 Mabel Fairbanks, figure skater and coach, was born in New York City. Fairbanks fell in love with figure skating in the 1930s. Despite her ability, she was not allowed to join skating clubs because of her race. She was often told, “we don’t have Negroes in ice shows.” She eventually left the […]
November 13th in African American History – Benny Andrews
November 13, 1930 Benny Andrews, painter, printmaker, and educator, was born in Plainview, Georgia. After serving in the United States Air Force as a staff sergeant from 1950 to 1954, Andrews earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He had his first New York City solo […]
November 13th in African American History – Hansberry v. Lee
November 13, 1940 The United States Supreme Court ruled in Hansberry v. Lee The ruling states that whites could not bar African Americans from white neighborhoods, but did not rule that restrictive covenants based on race were void. It ruled for Hansberry on a legal technicality that Lee did not represent the entire class because […]
November 12th in African American History – Samuel Peralta Sosa
November 12, 1968 Samuel Peralta Sosa, retired Major League Baseball player, was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Sosa made his major league debut in 1989 and over his 18 year professional career hit 609 home runs, was a seven time All-Star selection, and in 1998 was the National League Most Valuable Player.