March 16, 1975 Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, died. Walker was born May 28, 1910 in Linden, Texas and learned his craft as a teenager. He made his debut recordings in 1929 with “Wichita Falls Blues” and “Trinity River Blues.” Much of his output was recorded between 1946 and 1948, including […]
March 15th in African American History – Lester Willis Young
March 15, 1959 Lester Willis Young, jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, died. Young was born August 27, 1909 in Woodville, Mississippi and played in his family’s band on the vaudeville and carnival circuit. He left the family band in 1927 because he refused to play in the South where Jim Crow Laws were in effect. […]
March 15th in African American History – Ruppert Leon Sargent
March 15, 1967 Ruppert Leon Sargent, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Sargent was born January 6, 1938 in Hampton, Virginia. He joined the United States Army and was serving as a First Lieutenant in Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On March 15, 1967, while in Hau Nghia Province of the […]
March 14th in African American History – Westley Sissel “Wes” Unseld
March 14, 1946 Westley Sissel “Wes” Unseld, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Unseld played college basketball for three years beginning in 1965 with the University of Louisville where he was an All-American. He was selected in the first round of the 1968 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. That year, […]
March 14th in African American History – Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer
March 14, 1977 Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer, voting rights activist and civil rights leader, died. Hamer was born October 6, 1917 in Sunflower, Mississippi. In 1961, without her knowledge or consent, Hamer was sterilized by a white doctor as part of the state of Mississippi’s plan to reduce the number of poor blacks in the […]
March 13th in African American History – Leon Day
March 13, 1995 Leon Day, pitcher in the Negro Baseball League, died. Day was born October 30, 1916 in Alexandria, Virginia and made his professional debut in 1934. Day was one of the top pitchers in the Negro Leagues from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. From 1935 to 1946, he appeared in a record seven […]
March 13th in African American History – Anne Wiggins Brown
March 13, 2009 Anne Wiggins Brown, soprano and the first African American vocalist admitted to the Juilliard School, died. Brown was born August 9, 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland. She studied at Morgan College and applied to the Peabody Institute, but was rejected because of her race. In 1928, she was admitted to the Juilliard School […]