July 5, 1929 Henry Lincoln Johnson, soldier and recipient of several medals, died penniless and without official recognition from the United States government. Johnson was born in 1897 in Alexandria, Virginia and moved to Albany, New York in his early teens. Johnson enlisted in the army in 1917, joining the all-black New York National Guard […]
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July 5th in African American History – Earl Shinhoster
July 5, 1950 Earl Shinhoster, civil rights leader, was born in Savannah, Georgia. Shinhoster got involved in the NAACP’s Savannah branch youth council at a young age and was president of the council at 16. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College in 1972 and later earned his Juris Doctor degree […]
July 4th in African American History – Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.
July 4, 2002 Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen, died. Davis was born December 18, 1912 in Washington, D. C. After attending the University of Chicago, Davis entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1932. Despite shunning by his classmates, never having a roommate, and being […]
July 4th in African American History – Barry White
July 4, 2003 Barry White, singer, songwriter, and record producer, died. White was born Barrence Eugene Carter on September 12, 1944 in Galveston, Texas. He began his musical career in the early 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the mid-1960s. He got his big break producing a female group he […]
July 3rd in African American History – Fontella Bass
July 3, 1940 Fontella Bass, soul singer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Bass showed great musical talent at an early age. At the age of five, she was providing piano accompaniment for her grandmother’s singing and by the time she was nine she was accompanying her mother on gospel tours throughout the South. At […]
July 3rd in African American History – Ruth Jean Simmons
July 3, 1945 Ruth Jean Simmons, the first black president of an Ivy League institution, was born in Grapeland, Texas. Simmons earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dillard University in 1967 and her Master of Arts and doctorate in Romance Literature from Harvard University in 1970 and 1973, respectively. Simmons served in various capacities […]
July 2nd in African American History – The National Black Network
July 2, 1972 The National Black Network began operation as the first coast-to-coast radio network totally owned by African Americans. The network was put together by Eugene D. Jackson, Sydney L. Small, and Del Raycee. It started with 25 affiliates and aired 5 minute newscasts at the hour and sportscasts several times a day at […]