January 7, 2001 Lowell W. Perry, the first African American assistant coach in the National Football League, died. Perry was born December 5, 1931 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He played college football at the University of Michigan where he was an All-American receiver. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953, Perry was selected by […]
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January 6th in African American History – Louis Emanuel Martin, Jr.
January 6, 1997 Louis Emanuel Martin, Jr., journalist, publisher, and civil rights activist, died. Martin was born November 18, 1912 in Shelbyville, Tennessee, but grew up in Savannah, Georgia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Michigan in 1934 and in 1936 was hired as a reporter for the […]
January 6th in African American History – Louis Allen Rawls
January 6, 2006 Louis Allen Rawls, soul, jazz, and blues singer, died. Rawls was born December 1, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. He sang with Sam Cooke in a 1950s gospel group. He also sang background on Cooke’s recording of “Bring it on Home to Me” in 1962 and that same year released his first single […]
January 5th in African American History – George Washington Carver
January 5, 1943 George Washington Carver, scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor, died. Carver was born enslaved on July 12, 1864 in Diamond, Missouri. Carver and his family were freed after slavery was abolished. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 and his Master of Science degree in 1896 from Iowa State Agricultural College […]
January 5th in African American History – Charles Mingus, Jr.
January 5, 1979 Charles Mingus, Jr., jazz bassist, composer and bandleader, died. Mingus was born April 22, 1922 in Nogales, Arizona. He began writing advanced jazz pieces as a teenager. Mingus toured with Louis Armstrong in 1943 and in 1945 began recording. In 1952, Mingus co-founded Debut Records in order to conduct his recording career […]
January 4th in African American History – Grace Bumbry
January 4, 1937 Grace Bumbry, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. At the age of 17, Bumbry won a competition singing the aria “O don fatale” but was denied the first-place prize scholarship to the local music conservatory because it did not accept black students.
January 4th in African American History – Willie Jeffries
January 4, 1937 Willie Jeffries, the first African American head football coach at a NCAA Division 1-A college, was born in Union, South Carolina. Jeffries began his coaching career at his alma mater, South Carolina State University, in 1973. In 1979, he became the head football coach at Division 1-A Wichita State University, a position […]