August 8, 2005 John Harold Johnson, publisher and businessman, died. Johnson was born January 19, 1918 in Arkansas City, Arkansas. He moved to Chicago, Illinois with his family in 1933. After graduating from high school, Johnson took a job as an office boy at Supreme Life Insurance Company and within two years he had moved […]
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August 7th in African American History – Esther Mae Jones Phillips
August 7, 1984 Esther Mae Jones Phillips, R&B vocalist, died. Phillips was born December 23, 1935 in Galveston, Texas. In 1949, she won an amateur talent contest and began touring as “Little Esther Phillips.” In 1950, she recorded her first hit record, “Double Crossing Blues,” and that was followed by other hits such as “Mistrusting […]
August 7th in African American History – Alan Cedric Page
August 7, 1945 Alan Cedric Page, hall of fame football player and judge, was born in Canton, Ohio. Page played college football at the University of Notre Dame and led them to the national championship in 1966. That same year he was named All-American. In 1967, Page earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political […]
August 6th in African American History – David Maurice “The Admiral” Robinson
August 6, 1965 David Maurice “The Admiral” Robinson, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Key West, Florida. Robinson played college basketball for the United States Naval Academy where he was an All-American in 1986 and 1987 and won the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the College Basketball Player of the Year in 1987. […]
August 6th in African American History – William Alexander Clarke Bustamante
August 6, 1977 William Alexander Clarke Bustamante, the first Prime Minister of Jamaica, died. Born William Alexander Clarke on February 24, 1884 in Hanover, Jamaica, he took the name Bustamante to honor an Iberian sea captain who befriended him in his youth. After traveling the world, Bustamante returned to Jamaica in 1932 and became a […]
August 5th in African American History – Dudley Randall
August 5, 2000 Dudley Randall, founder of Broadside Press, died. Randall was born January 14, 1914 in Washington, D. C. but raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 13, his first published poem was printed in the Detroit Free Press newspaper. After serving in the military during World War II, Randall earned a Bachelor […]
August 5th in African American History – Oliver White Hill, Sr.
August 5, 2007 Oliver White Hill, Sr., civil rights attorney, died. Hill was born May 1, 1907 in Richmond, Virginia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1931 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Howard’s School of Law in 1933. Hill won his first civil rights case in 1940 in […]