December 6, 1967 Lillian Evans (Evanti), one of the first African American women to become an internationally prominent opera performer, died. Evans was born August 12, 1891 in Washington, D.C. A gifted student and performer, she could speak and sing in five different languages and earned her bachelor’s degree in music from Howard University.
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December 5th in African American History – Mary McLeod Bethune
December 5, 1935 Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women. She founded it as an organization of organizations to represent the national and international concerns of black women. The organization’s mission is to “lead, develop, and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families and communities.”
December 5th in African American History – James Arthur “Art” Monk
December 5, 1957 James Arthur “Art” Monk, hall of fame football player, was born in White Plains, New York. Monk played college football for Syracuse University from 1976 to 1979 and earned his bachelor’s degree from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Monk was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 1980 NFL Draft.
December 4th in African American History – Fred Hampton, Sr.
December 4, 1969 Fred Hampton, Sr., Black Panther leader, was assassinated. Hampton was born August 30, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Maywood, a suburb of Chicago. At an early age, he became active in the NAACP Youth Council, assuming leadership and growing the organization to 500 members. He worked to get more […]
December 4th in African American History – Joe Brown
December 4, 1997 Joe Brown, hall of fame boxer, died. Brown was born May 18, 1925 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He began his professional boxing career at the age of 17 but it was interrupted by World War II. During his almost two years in the United States Navy, Brown took part in seven Pacific […]
December 3rd in African American History – Ralph Alexander Gardner
December 3, 1922 Ralph Alexander Gardner, scientist who specialized in the development of hard plastics, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Gardner earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois School of Chemistry in 1943 and took a research job with the Argonne National Laboratory where he worked on the Manhattan Project which resulted in […]
December 3rd in African American History – Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks
December 3, 2000 Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks, poet and novelist, died. Brooks was born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas but raised in Chicago, Illinois. She published her first poem in a children’s magazine at 13 and by the time she was 16 she had a portfolio of 75 published poems. Brooks’ first book of poetry, […]