March 10, 1965 Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin, suffragette and civil rights activist, died. Lampkin was born August 9, 1883 in Washington, D. C. After moving to Pittsburgh, she joined the New Negro Women’s Equal Franchise Federation which was later renamed the Lucy Stone League. In 1915, she became president of the league, a position she […]
Archive | March RSS feed for this section
March 10th in African American History – LaVern Baker
March 10, 1997 LaVern Baker, rhythm and blues singer, died. Born Delores LaVern Baker on November 11, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. She began singing in Chicago clubs under various names around 1946 before settling on LaVern Baker in 1952. Baker had her first hit, “Tweedlee Dee,” in 1955 and had a succession of hits over […]
March 9th in African American History – Matthew Alexander Henson
March 9th, 1955 Matthew Alexander Henson, explorer, died. Henson was born August 8, 1866 in Charles County, Maryland. At the age of 12, he went to sea as a cabin boy and sailed around the world over the next several years. In 1887, he met Commander Robert Peary who recruited him as a colleague and they […]
March 9th in African American History – Lawrence Joel
March 9, 1967 President Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration, to Lawrence Joel. Joel was the first living African American to receive the medal since the Spanish-American War. Joel was born February 22, 1928 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He joined the United States Army in 1946 and served in the […]
March 8th in African American History – William Clarence “Billy” Eckstine
March 8, 1993 William Clarence “Billy” Eckstine, bandleader and balladeer, died. Eckstine was born July 8, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began singing at age seven. In 1939, he joined Earl Hines’ Grand Terrace Orchestra as vocalist and occasional trumpeter. In 1944, Eckstine formed his own band which was the first bop big-band.
March 8th in African American History – Willie King
March 8, 2009 Willie King, blues guitarist, composer and singer, died. King was born March 18, 1943 in Prairie Point, Mississippi. Prior to recording, he worked at many occupations. King later became active with the Civil Rights Movement, which inspired him to write socially-conscious blues songs. He described his music as struggling blues because of […]
March 7th in African American History – Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Toure
March 7, 2006 Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Toure, guitarist, singer and one of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians, died. Toure was born October 31, 1939 in Timbuktu, Mali. Toure was the first African bluesman to achieve widespread popularity in Africa and was often called “the African John Lee Hooker.” He appeared in the 2003 documentary “Feel […]