March 30, 1967 Nathan Pinchback “Jean” Toomer, poet and novelist, died. Toomer was born December 26, 1894 in Washington, D. C. Toomer attended six institutions of higher education between 1914 and 1917, studying agriculture, fitness, biology, sociology, and history but never earned a degree. After college, he published some short stories and served as principal […]
March 29th in African American History – Joe Williams
March 29, 1999 Joe Williams, jazz singer, died. Williams was born Joseph Goreed on December 12, 1918 in Cordele, Georgia. His family moved to Chicago in 1922 and by his early teens he had taught himself to play the piano and formed his own gospel group. By 1939, Williams had started to tour with established […]
March 29th in African American History – John Aaron Lewis
March 29, 2001 John Aaron Lewis, jazz pianist, composer and the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet, died. Lewis was born May 3, 1920 in LaGrange, Illinois but raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began to learn the piano and classical music at the age of seven. In 1942, he graduated from the University […]
March 28th in African American History – William Christopher “W. C.” Handy
March 28, 1958 William Christopher “W. C.” Handy, blues composer and musician, died. Handy was born November 16, 1873 in Florence, Alabama. At age 23, He became band master of Mahara’s Colored Minstrels and over the next three years toured throughout the United States and Cuba. From 1900 to 1902, he taught music at Alabama […]
March 28th in African American History – Benjamin Elijah Mays
March 28, 1984 Benjamin Elijah Mays, minister, educator, scholar, and social activist, died. Mays was born August 1, 1894 in Ninety Six, South Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College in 1920 and his Master of Arts degree in 1925 and Ph. D. in the School of Religion in 1935 from […]
March 27th in African American History – Sarah Lois Vaughan
March 27, 1924 Sarah Lois Vaughan, jazz singer known as “The Divine One,” was born in Newark, New Jersey. Vaughan began piano lessons at the age of seven and sang in the church choir. By her mid-teens, she was performing in local nightclubs. In 1942, Vaughan sang “Body and Soul” at the Apollo Amateur Night […]
March 27th in African American History – Mariah Carey
March 27, 1970 Mariah Carey, singer, songwriter and actress, was born in Long Island, New York. Carey began singing at the age of three and by high school was working as a demo singer for local recording studios. Carey co-wrote the tracks on her 1990 debut album, “Mariah Carey,” which resulted in her winning Grammy […]