October 12, 2005 Cynthia DeLores Nottage Tucker died. Tucker was born October 4, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School. Tucker had a long history in the Civil Rights Movement, including participating in the 1965 march to Selma, Alabama.
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October 12th in African American History – Wilton Norman Chamberlain
October 12, 1999 Wilton Norman “Wilt” Chamberlain, hall of fame professional basketball player, died. Chamberlain was born August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was 6 feet 11 inches when he entered high school and used that advantage as a prolific scorer throughout his high school and college career. After his junior year of college, […]
October 11th in African American History – Malvin Greston Mal Whitfield
October 11, 1924 Malvin Greston “Mal” Whitfield, track athlete and diplomat, was born in Bay City, Texas. In 1943, Whitfield joined the United States Army Air Force and became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen with whom he flew 27 combat missions during the Korean War. After World War II he enrolled at Ohio State […]
October 11th in African American History – Redd Foxx
October 11, 1991 Redd Foxx, comedian and actor, died. Foxx was born John Elroy Sanford on December 9, 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to New York City in the early 1940s where he was an associate of Malcolm X. In Malcolm’s autobiography Foxx is referred to as “Chicago Red, the funniest dishwasher on […]
October 10th in African American History – Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jr., jazz pianist and composer, was born in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. Monk started playing the piano at age six and although he had some formal training, he was essentially self-taught. In the early to mid-1940s, Monk served as the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse which featured most of […]
October 10th in African American History – Frederick Douglass Patterson
October 10, 1901 Frederick Douglass Patterson, founder of the United Negro College Fund, was born in Washington, D. C. Patterson earned his bachelor’s degree from Prairie View State College in 1919, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1923 and Masters in Science in 1927 from Iowa State University and a Ph.D in Bacteriology in 1932 […]
October 9th in African American History – Rosetta Tharpe
October 9, 1973 Rosetta Tharpe, gospel singer and songwriter, died. Tharpe was born March 20, 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. She began performing at the age of 4, accompanying her mother at tent revivals across the South. Tharpe made her recording debut in 1938 and soon became the first great recording star of gospel music.