March 30, 1964 Nellie Walker (also known as Nallallitea “Nella” Larsen), nurse, novelist and short story writer, died. Walker was born April 13, 1891 in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, she lived for several years with her mother’s relatives in Denmark and in 1907 she briefly attended Fisk University. In 1915, Walker graduated from the […]
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March 30th in African American History – Nathan Pinchback “Jean” Toomer
March 30, 1967 Nathan Pinchback “Jean” Toomer, poet and novelist, died. Toomer was born December 26, 1894 in Washington, D. C. Toomer attended six institutions of higher education between 1914 and 1917, studying agriculture, fitness, biology, sociology, and history but never earned a degree. After college, he published some short stories and served as principal […]
March 25th in African American History – John Hope Franklin
March 25, 2009 John Hope Franklin, historian and author, died. Franklin was born January 2, 1915 in Rentiesville, Oklahoma. He graduated from Fisk University in 1935 and earned a doctorate in history in 1941 from Harvard University. In the early 1950s, he served on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund team that developed the sociological case […]
March 18th in African American History – Dana Elaine Owens (Queen Latifah)
March 18, 1970 Dana Elaine Owens (Queen Latifah), rapper, singer and actress, was born in Newark, New Jersey. Latifah started rapping in 1987 with the group Ladies Fresh and released her first album, “All Hail the Queen,” in 1989. Other rap albums include “Nature of a Sista” (1991) and “Order in the Court” (1998). In […]
March 12th in African American History – Romare Bearden
March 12, 1988 Romare Bearden, artist and writer, died. Bearden was born September 2, 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1935, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in science and education from New York University. He went on to study at the Arts Student League from 1936 to 1937. From 1942 to 1945, Bearden […]
March 1st in African American History – Ralph Waldo Ellison
March 1, 1914 Ralph Waldo Ellison, novelist, literary critic and scholar, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1933, Ellison entered Tuskegee Institute on a music scholarship but after his third year he moved to New York City where he met Richard Wright who encouraged him to pursue a career in writing.
February 27th in African American History – Anna Julia Haywood Cooper
February 27, 1964 Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, author, educator, and scholar, died. Cooper was born August 10, 1858 in Raleigh, North Carolina and at the age of nine received a scholarship to attend Saint Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute, a school for training teachers to educate formerly enslaved blacks and their families.