November 1, 1989 Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States, died. Alexander was born January 2, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1918, her Master of Science degree in economics in 1919, and her Ph.D. in economics […]
About Chimsima Zuhri
November 1st in African American History – James Milton Turner
November 1, 1915 James Milton Turner, politician and consul to Liberia, died. Turner was born enslaved on May 16, 1840 in St. Louis, Missouri. Turner and his parents were freed when he was young but he still had limited educational opportunities because Missouri State laws restricted Blacks from learning to read. Despite the legal obstacles, […]
October 31st in African American History – Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Tour
October 31, 1939 Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Toure, guitarist, singer and one of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians, was born in Timbuktu, Mali. Toure was the first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity in Africa and was often called “the African John Lee Hooker.” He appeared in the 2003 documentary “Feel Like Going Home” which traced […]
October 31st in African American History – Earl Francis “Big Cat” Lloyd
October 31, 1950 Earl Francis “Big Cat” Lloyd became the first African American to play in a National Basketball Association game. Lloyd was born April 3, 1928 in Alexandria, Virginia. He played collegiate basketball at West Virginia State College where he was a two-time All-American and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education […]
October 30th in African American History – Clifford Brown
October 30, 1930 Clifford Brown, jazz trumpeter, was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Brown started playing professionally after briefly attending college. He performed with Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey, among others, before forming his own group with Max Roach. Brown won the Down Beat critic’s poll for the New Star of the Year in 1954. Albums […]
October 30th in African American History – Wallace Delaney Muhammad (Warith Deen Mohammed)
October 30, 1933 Wallace Delaney Muhammad (Warith Deen Mohammed), Muslim leader and author, was born in Hamtramck, Michigan. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mohammed served as a minister under his father, Elijah Muhammed, in Philadelphia before being excommunicated for denying the divinity of Wallace Ford Muhammad. In 1961, he was sent to federal […]
October 29th in African American History – Beatrice Melba Smith (Melba Moore)
October 29, 1945 Beatrice Melba Smith (Melba Moore), R&B singer and actress, was born in New York City. Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in musical education from Montclair State Teacher’s College and taught music for a year in the Newark Public School System. She began her performing career in 1967 in the cast of “Hair.”