January 29, 1992 William James “Willie” Dixon, blues vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, died. Dixon was born July 1, 1915 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. As a teenager, he began adapting the poems that he wrote into songs and selling them to local music groups. In 1936, he moved to Chicago and helped form the Five Breezes. […]
November 25th in African American History – Harold Lee Washington
November 25, 1987 Harold Lee Washington, the first and only African American Mayor of Chicago, died. Washington was born April 15, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Bronzeville, the epicenter of Black culture in Chicago. After service in the military, Washington earned a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt College in 1949 and a law […]
November 25th in African American History – Clerow Flip Wilson Jr
November 25, 1998 Clerow “Flip” Wilson, Jr., comedian and actor, died. Wilson was born December 8, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He lied about his age at 16 and joined the United States Air Force where his personality and funny stories made him popular. After his discharge, he became a regular at the Apollo […]
November 24th in African American History – Joseph Vernon “Big Joe” Turner
November 24, 1985 Joseph Vernon “Big Joe” Turner, blues singer, died. Turner was born May 18, 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of fourteen, he began working in Kansas City’s nightclub scene. Turner’s career stretched from the barrooms of Kansas City in the 1920s to the European music festivals of the 1980s.
November 24th in African American History – Hale Smith
November 24, 2009 Hale Smith, composer, pianist, arranger and educator, died. Smith was born June 29, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1950 and 1952, respectively.
November 23rd in African American History – Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr
November 23, 1995 Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr. (Junior Walker), saxophonist and bandleader, died. Walker was born June 14, 1931 in Blytheville, Arkansas but grew up in South Bend, Indiana. In the mid-1950s, he started a band called the Jumping Jacks. In 1961, the band signed with Motown Records and their name was changed to Jr. […]
November 23rd in African American History – Gerald Michael Boyd
November 23, 2006 Gerald Michael Boyd, the first African American metropolitan editor and managing editor at the New York Times, died. Boyd was born October 3, 1950 in St. Louis, Missouri. He won a scholarship to the University of Missouri-Columbia and after graduating in 1973 joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where he worked as a […]