March 4, 1932 Zenzile Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Makeba began her professional singing career in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional South African melodies.
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March 3rd in African American History – Grafton Tyler Brown
March 3, 1918 Grafton Tyler Brown, lithographer and painter of the American West, died. Brown was born February 22, 1841 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Before he was 20, he moved to San Francisco, California where he established his own firm to produce illustrated bank notes, labels, maps, and stock certificates.
March 3rd in African American History – William Delouis Watson
March 3, 1973 William Delouis Watson, the first African American to win the United States decathlon championship, died. Watson was born December 18, 1916 in Boley, Oklahoma, but raised in Saginaw, Michigan.
March 2nd in African American History – Frank E. Petersen, Jr.
March 2, 1932 Frank E. Petersen, Jr., the first African American Marine Corps aviator and the first African American Marine Corps general, was born in Topeka, Kansas. Petersen enlisted in the United States Navy in 1950 as a seaman apprentice.
March 2nd in African American History – David Satcher
March 2, 1941 David Satcher, physician and public health administrator, was born in Anniston, Alabama. Satcher earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse College in 1963. He simultaneously earned his medical degree and Ph.D. in cytogenetics from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. From 1979 to 1982, Satcher served […]
March 1st in African American History – Emmett Littleton Ashford
March 1, 1980 Emmett Littleton Ashford, the first African American umpire in major league baseball, died. Ashford was born November 23, 1914 in Los Angeles, California.
March 1st in African American History – Blanche Kelso Bruce
March 1, 1841 Blanche Kelso Bruce, the first elected African American United States senator to serve a full term, was born enslaved in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Because his father was white, he was able to legally free Bruce and arrange for a trade apprenticeship.