John Lee Hooker

August 22, 1917 John Lee Hooker, singer, songwriter, and blues guitarist, was born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

At the age of 15, Hooker ran away from home and in 1948 landed in Detroit, Michigan working at the Ford Motor Company and playing in the blues venues and saloons on Hasting Street.

Hooker began recording in 1948 and over his career recorded over 100 albums, including “John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues” (1961), “The Healer” (1989), and “The Best of Friends” (1998). Hooker was a charter inductee to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” (1948) and “Boom Boom” (1962), are included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Hooker won three Grammy Awards and in 2000 was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His biography, “Boogie Man: Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the 20th Century”, was published in 2000. Hooker died June 21, 2001.

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August 19, 1946 Martha Rae Watson, hall of fame track and field athlete, was born in Long Beach, California.

Watson attended Tennessee State University and was America’s premier female long jumper during the 1960s and early 1970s.

She competed in the long jump at the 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Atlanta, 1972 Munich, and 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. She also was a member of the 4 by 100 meter relay team at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games.

Watson won five indoor and three outdoor national titles between 1964 and 1976 and twice set the United States indoor record in the long jump. Watson retired from competition in 1979 and was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1987.

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August 15, 1958 William Lee Conley “Big Bill” Broonzy, blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist, died.

Broonzy was born June 26, 1898 in Lake Dick, Arkansas but raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

He began playing music at an early age and at the age of ten made himself a fiddle from a cigar box and began playing spirituals and folk songs. Broonzy was drafted into the United States Army in 1917 and served two years in Europe during World War I. In 1920, he moved to Chicago, Illinois and released his first records in 1927.

Broonzy recorded over 350 compositions, most of which were released after his death. In 1980, he was an inaugural inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was an inaugural inductee into the Gannett Records Walk of Fame. His autobiography, “Big Bill Blues,” was published in 1955 and in 2011 “I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy” was published.

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August 6, 1924 Ella Jenkins, folk singer and “The First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song,” was born in St. Louis, Missouri but grew up in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1951, Jenkins earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology with minors in child psychology and recreation from San Francisco State University.

After graduating, she began writing songs for children and hosting a show on Chicago public television called “This is Rhythm.” In 1956, Jenkins became a full-time musician and recorded her first album, “Call-And-Response: Rhythmic Group Singing,” in 1957. Since then, she has recorded 29 other albums, including “Ella Jenkins and a Union of Friends” (1999), “Ella Jenkins and a Union of Friends Pulling Together” (2000), and “Sharing Cultures with Ella Jenkins” (2003), all of which were nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Musical Album for Children, and “Cellabration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins” which won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children.

Jenkins is not only an important force in children’s lives, but also has taught her approach to working with children to parents and fellow music educators. Jenkins received the Life In Music Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Foundation (ASCAP) in 1999, becoming the first woman and the first recipient in the field of children’s music, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

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August 31, 1972 Christopher “Chris” Tucker, comedian and actor, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

After graduating from high school, Tucker moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy and movies. He made his film debut in “House Party 3” (1994) and his first major role was in the 1995 film “Friday.”

He later starred in “Money Talks” (1997), “The Fifth Element” (1997), and the “Rush Hour” series (1998, 2001, and 2007). As a result of the success of “Rush Hour,” Tucker became the fastest actor ever to make Hollywood’s “$20 million a film club.”

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August 31, 2002 Lionel Leo Hampton, jazz vibraphonist and band leader, died.

Hampton was born April 20, 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky. While still a teenager, he played the xylophone and drums. In 1936, he joined the Benny Goodman Quartet, making it one of the first racially integrated jazz groups to record and play before wide audiences. In 1940, Hampton formed his own big band which was very popular during the 1940s and 1950s.

Hampton continued to play until shortly before his death. Hampton was also deeply involved in the construction of various public housing projects and founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation. He also served as vice chairman of the New York Republican County Committee and was a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.

In 1982, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 1987 he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame, and in 1988 he was designated a NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor the nation awards to jazz artist.

In 1996, President William Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor bestowed on an individual artist by the United States. Hampton’s autobiography, “Hamp: An Autobiography of Lionel Hampton,” was published in 1989.

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August 30, 1953 Robert Lee Parish, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Parish played college basketball at Centenary College of Louisiana and earned his B. A. degree in 1976. Parish was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 1976 NBA Draft and traded to the Boston Celtics in 1980.

Over his 20 season professional career, Parish was a 9-time All-Star and 4-time NBA champion. Parish retired after the 1997 season and in 1998 the Boston Celtics retired his 00 jersey number. In 1996, Parish was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and in 2003 he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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August 30, 2009 Marie Roach Knight, gospel and R&B singer, died.

Knight was born June 1, 1920 in Sanford, Florida. She first toured with evangelist Frances Robinson. In 1946, she made her first recordings as a member of The Sunset Four. That same year, Knight met Sister Rosetta Tharp, and they performed and recorded together until 1951, recording such hits as “Up Above My Head” (1948) and “Gospel Train” (1949).

Knight went solo in 1951, and in 1956 recorded the album “Songs of the Gospel”. In the late 1950s, Knight began to record secular music with her biggest hit being “Cry Me a River” in 1965. She also toured with Brook Benton, The Drifters, and Clyde McPhatter. In the mid-1970s, Knight returned to gospel music and recorded “Marie Knight: Today” (1975) and “Let Us Get Together” (2007).

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August 29, 1966 Melvin Beaunorus Tolson, educator and poet, died.

Tolson was born February 6, 1898 in Moberly, Missouri. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Lincoln University in 1923 and his Master of Arts degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in 1940.

Shortly after receiving his undergraduate degree, Tolson took a position as English and speech instructor at Wiley College. He also served as the football coach, play director, and speech and debate coach. Under his direction, the debate team maintained a ten year winning streak, including winning the national championship over the University of Southern California which was the subject of the 2007 film “The Great Debaters.”

Tolson’s first book of poetry, “Rendezvous with America,” was published in 1944. In 1947, he was appointed the Poet Laureate of Liberia and in 1953 he published “Libretto for the Republic of Liberia.” Tolson also served two terms as Mayor of Langston, Oklahoma from 1954 to 1960. In 1970, Langston University founded the Melvin B. Tolson Black Heritage Center to collect material of Africans, African Americans, and the African diaspora.

His autobiography, “Melvin B. Tolson, 1898 – 1966: Plain Talk and Poetic Prophecy,” was published in 1984.

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August 29, 1958 Michael Joseph Jackson, the “King of Pop,” was born in Gary, Indiana.

Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 as a member of the Jackson 5. In 1968, they signed with Motown Records and their first four singles, “I Want You Back” (1969), “ABC” (1970), “The Love You Save” (1970), and “I’ll Be There” (1970) all peaked at number one on the Billboard 100. In 1971, Jackson started his solo career while continuing to perform with his brothers. In 1978, he starred as the Scarecrow in the musical film version of “The Wiz.”

His 1982 album “Thriller” is the best selling album of all-time with “Off The Wall” (1979), “Bad” (1987), and “Dangerous” (1991) among the best selling of all-time. Over his career, Jackson won 19 Grammy Awards, including a record eight in 1984. Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. He transformed the art of the music video and influenced scores of other artists, including Mariah Carey, Usher, and Justin Timberlake.

Jackson received numerous awards, including the World Music Award’s “Best Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium” and the American Music Award’s “Artist of the Century Award.” He was a double inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of the Jackson 5 in 1997 and as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson died June 25, 2009 and was posthumously given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Several biographies have been written about Jackson, including “Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask” (2005).

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August 28, 1963 More than 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. by marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.

The march was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, James Farmer, president of the Congress of Racial Equality, John Lewis, president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Martin Luther King, Jr. , president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Roy Wilkins, president of the NAACP, and Whitney Young, president of the National Urban League.

At the Lincoln Memorial King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, first delivered in Detroit on June 23, 1963. The march is widely credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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August 28, 2010 William Patrick Foster, creator of the Florida A&M University “Marching 100,” died.

Foster was born August 25, 1919 in Kansas City, Kansas. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Kansas in 1941, his Master of Arts degree in music from Wayne State University in 1950, and his Doctor of Education degree in music from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1955.

When Foster became director of the band in 1946, the school was known as the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes. He introduced over 30 new techniques to the band which have become standard procedures for high school and college bands nationwide. In 1989, France chose the Florida A&M band as America’s official representative in the Bastille Day Parade celebrating the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. In 1992, Sports Illustrated Magazine declared the Florida A&M band the best marching band in the country.

Foster retired in 1998 and was the first recipient of the United States Achievement Academy Hall of Fame Award. Also in 1998, he was elected to the National Band Association Hall of Distinguished Band Conductors, the most prestigious honor a bandmaster can receive. Foster authored “Band Pageantry: A Guide for the Marching Band” and “The Man Behind the Baton.”

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August 27, 1979 Norman W. Lewis, painter, scholar, and educator, died.

Lewis was born July 23, 1909 in Harlem, New York. Always interested in art, he had amassed a large art history library by the time he was a young man. His early paintings were mostly figurative, including “Meeting Place” (1930), “The Yellow Hat” (1936), and “Dispossed” (1940).

In the late 1940s, his work became increasingly abstract, including “Tenement I” (1952), “Harlem Turns White” (1955), and “Night Walker No. 2” (1956). His painting “Migrating Birds” (1954) won the Popular Prize at the 1955 Carnegie International Exhibition. In 1953, Lewis was a founding member of the SPIRAL Group which sought to define how African American artists could contribute to the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1972, Lewis received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 1975 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. Lewis’ paintings are in the collections of numerous major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

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August 27, 1996 Francis Gregory Morris, television and movie actor, died.

Morris was born September 27, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began his acting career in the early 1960s with guest appearances on television shows such as “The Twilight Zone” and “Ben Casey.” In September, 1966, he was cast in his most memorable role as the electronics expert in “Mission Impossible.”

After that series was cancelled in March, 1973, Morris continued to appear in movies and make guest television appearances until he was cast in the television series “Vega$” in 1978. That series aired until 1981.

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August 26, 1955 King Solomon White, Negro League baseball player, manager, executive, and author, died.

White was born June 12, 1868 in Bellaire, Ohio. He joined the Pittsburgh Keystones of the National Colored Baseball League in 1887, starting a playing career that lasted until 1912.

White made a name for himself in the predominantly white minor leagues before blacks were excluded from playing. He was instrumental in the 1902 formation of the Philadelphia Giants and the later development and operation of various leagues. In 1907, his book “Sol White’s History of Colored Baseball” was published.

White was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

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August 26, 1960 Branford Marsalis, saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.

In 1980, while still a Berklee College of Music student, Marsalis toured Europe playing saxophone in a large ensemble led by drummer Art Blakey. In 1981, he joined his brother Wynton in Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. His primary focus since 1996 has been on his own quartet, classical performance, and education.

The Branford Marsalis Quartet has toured and recorded extensively. They received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group in 1992 for “I Heard You Twice the First Time” and in 2001 for “Contemporary Jazz.” Marsalis has also become involved in education at the university level with appointments at Michigan State University, San Francisco State University, and North Carolina Central University.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. created the concept of a musician’s village in the Upper Ninth Ward, with the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music as the village’s centerpiece. This project has provided dozens of musicians of modest means with the opportunity to own decent, affordable housing.

Marsalis was nominated for a 2010 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater for the Broadway play “Fences.”

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August 25, 1946 Charles Alvin Sanders, hall of fame football player, was born in Richlands, North Carolina.

Sanders played college football at the University of Minnesota and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 1968 NFL Draft. Over his 10 season professional career, Sanders was a seven-time All-Pro selection. Sanders retired after the 1977 season and from 1983 to 1988 served as a color analyst on the Lions’ radio broadcasts.

He is currently their assistant director of pro personnel. In 2007, Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2005, he co-authored “Charlie Sanders’ Tales from the Detroit Lions.”

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August 25, 2001 Aaliyah Dana Houghton, recording artist, actress, and model, died in an airplane crash in the Bahamas.

Houghton was born January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York but was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of nine, Houghton appeared on the television show “Star Search” and at the age of eleven she performed in concert with Gladys Knight. Her debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number,” was released in 1994 and sold more than two million copies.

Both of her next two albums, “One in a Million” (1996) and “Aaliyah” (2001), also sold more than two million copies and were certified double platinum. She appeared in her first major film, “Romeo Must Die”, in 2000 and a track from the film, “Try Again”, earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.

Houghton sold more than 24 million records worldwide and in 2002 she was posthumously awarded the American Music Awards’ Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album.

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August 24, 1987 Bayard Rustin, civil rights leader and the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, died.

Rustin was born March 17, 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1942, Rustin assisted in the founding of the Congress of Racial Equality. A declared pacifist, he was imprisoned from 1944 to 1946 for violating the Selective Service Act. While in prison, he organized protests against the segregated dining facilities. After his release from prison, Rustin was frequently arrested for protesting against British colonial rule in India and Africa.

In 1947, he organized the Journey of Reconciliation, the first of the Freedom Rides, to test the Supreme Court ruling that banned racial discrimination in interstate travel. In 1951, he organized the Committee to Support South African Resistance which later became the American Committee on Africa. In 1957, he assisted Martin Luther King, Jr. in organizing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Rustin worked as a human rights and election monitor for Freedom House, a research and advocacy group for democracy, political freedom, and human rights.

Several schools and other institutions are named in his honor. A number of books have been written about Rustin, including “Bayard Rustin: Troubles I’ve Seen” (1997), “Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement” (1997), “Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin” (2004) and “We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin” (2007).

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August 24, 2003 John Melville Burgess, the first African American diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church, died.

Burgess was born March 11, 1909 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in social work from the University Michigan in 1930 and 1931, respectively. He earned a divinity degree from Episcopal Theological School in 1934. Burgess was ordained to the priesthood in 1935 and later put in charge of a church outside Cincinnati that he described as “the poorest of the poor.” There he administered a social service center, medical clinic, and a day school in an effort to make the church a place that ministered to the whole person.

From 1946 to 1956, Burgess served as the first denominational chaplain at Howard University and from 1951 to 1956 he served at the Washington National Cathedral where he used the national pulpit to heighten the social conscience of the Episcopal Church. In 1962, Burgess was elected an assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and in 1970 he was installed as the diocese’s bishop, making him the first African American to head a diocese.

After retiring in 1975, Burgess taught at Yale University’s Berkeley Divinity School and served as board chairman at St. Augustine’s College. Burgess received honorary degrees from several colleges and universities, including the University of Michigan.

Today in African American History - The People & Events That Have Shaped Black Culture and History is a "Today in African American History" post from: Today in African American History

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