February 22, 1938 Ishmael Scott Reed, poet, essayist, and novelist, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but raised in Buffalo, New York. Reed attended the University of Buffalo before moving to New York City in 1962 and co-founding the “East Village Other,” a well know underground publication.
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February 18th in African American History – Chloe Ardelia Wofford (Toni Morrison)
February 18, 1931 Chloe Ardelia Wofford (Toni Morrison), author, editor, and professor, was born in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Howard University in 1953 and her Master of Arts degree in English from Cornell University in 1955.
February 18th in African American History – Audre Geraldine Lorde
February 18, 1934 Audre Geraldine Lorde, writer, poet, and activist, was born in New York City. Legally blind, Lorde wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in library science from Hunter College in 1959 and her Master of Library Science degree from Columbia University […]
February 14th in African American History – Frederick Douglass
February 14, 1818 Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, author, and statesman, was born enslaved in Tuckahoe, Maryland. Douglass taught himself to read and write and in 1838 escaped from slavery. He delivered his first abolitionist speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention in 1841.
February 11th in African American History – Jerena Lee
February 11, 1783 Jerena Lee, considered the first female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was born in Cape May, New Jersey. In her early 20’s, Lee was converted, sanctified and called to preach, but her first request for approval was denied. A few years later, Bishop Richard Allen granted her official church approval […]
February 9th in African American History – Paul Laurence Dunbar
February 9, 1906 Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet, died. Dunbar was born June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. He wrote his first poem at the age of six and gave his first public recital at nine.
February 9th in African American History – Alice Malsenior Walker
February 9, 1944 Alice Malsenior Walker, author, was born in Eatonton, Georgia. Walker earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965 and returned to the South where she became involved with voter registration drives, campaigns for welfare rights, and children’s programs in Mississippi.