December 13, 2009 Dale Raymond Wright, award-winning and barrier-breaking journalist, died. Wright was born July 19, 1923 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. He was among the first group of African Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and attained the rank of staff sergeant. After the war, he earned his undergraduate […]
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December 12th in African American History – Marie Dionne Warwick
December 12, 1940 Marie Dionne Warwick, singer and activist, was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Warwick began singing gospel as a child and sang her first solo at the age of 6. In 1958, she and other members formed the Gospelaires which in their first performance together won the weekly amateur contest at the […]
December 12th in African American History – Ike Wister Turner
December 12, 2007 Ike Wister Turner, bandleader and record producer, died. Turner was born November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His music career began in the late 1940s when he formed a group called The Kings of Rhythm. In 1951, the band recorded “Rocket 88” which many historians recognize as the first rock and roll […]
December 11th in African American History – Lewis Howard Latimer
December 11, 1928 Lewis Howard Latimer, inventor and draftsman, died. Latimer was born September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He joined the United States Navy at the age of 15 and after receiving an honorable discharge joined a patent law firm as a draftsman at the age of 17. On February 10, 1874, Latimer shared […]
December 11th in African American History – Samuel Cooke
December 11, 1964 Samuel Cooke, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur, was killed. Cooke was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He began his career singing gospel. In 1950, he became the lead singer for The Soul Stirrers and recorded hits such as “Peace in the Valley” (1951) and “One More River” (1955). In 1957, Cooke […]
December 10th in African American History – Otis Ray Redding, Jr.
December 10, 1967 Otis Ray Redding, Jr., singer and songwriter, died in a plane crash. Redding was born September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia. He grew up in Macon, Georgia where he sang in the church choir and won the local talent show 15 weeks in a row. In 1960, Redding began touring the south […]
December 10th in African American History – Henry L. Marsh III
December 10, 1933 Henry L. Marsh III, civil rights lawyer and politician, was born in Richmond, Virginia. Marsh earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Virginia Union University in 1956 and his Bachelor of Laws degree from Howard University School of Law in 1959. After law school, he formed a law firm and […]