June 4, 1973 Arna Wendell Bontemps, poet and noted member of the Harlem Renaissance, died. Bontemps was born October 13, 1902 in Alexandria, Louisiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Union College in 1923 and moved to New York City to teach. In 1943, after graduating from the University of Chicago with a Masters […]
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June 3rd in African American History – Florence Beatrice Price
June 3, 1953 Florence Beatrice Price, the first African American woman to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, died. Price was born April 9, 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She played her first piano recital at the age of four and her first work was published when she was 11. She graduated from […]
June 3rd in African American History – Koko Taylor
June 3, 2009 Koko Taylor, blues singer popularly known as the “Queen of the Blues,” died. Born Cora Walton on September 28, 1928 in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor moved to Chicago in 1952. During the late 1950s, she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. In 1966, Taylor recorded “Wang Dang Doodle” which became a hit […]
June 2nd in African American History – Cornel Ronald West
June 2, 1953 Cornel Ronald West, educator, author, and civil rights activist, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but grew up in Sacramento, California. West earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from Harvard College in 1973. He went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in 1975 and […]
June 2nd in African American History – Bo Diddley
June 2, 2008 Bo Diddley, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, died. Diddley was born Elias Otha Bates on December 30, 1928 in McComb, Mississippi. In 1934, his family moved to Chicago where in the early 1940s he began to perform. In 1954, he recorded “Bo Diddley” which became a number one R&B hit in 1955. Diddley […]
June 1st in African American History – The White House Conference on Civil Rights
June 1, 1966 The White House Conference on Civil Rights, titled “To Fulfill These Rights,” was convened. President Lyndon Johnson convened the two day conference to address discrimination against African Americans. The four areas covered were housing, economic security, education, and the administration of justice.
June 1st in African American History – Davis Eli “David” Ruffin
June 1, 1991 Davis Eli “David” Ruffin, former lead singer of The Temptations, died. Ruffin was born January 18, 1941 in Whynot, Mississippi. He began singing as a young child with his siblings, father, and stepmother in a family gospel group. In 1957, he moved to Detroit and recorded his first single, “You and I” […]