March 3, 1937 Eddie Perkins, hall of fame boxer, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi but raised in Chicago, Illinois. Perkins started boxing professionally in 1956 and was willing to fight anyone anywhere. Over his career, he fought in 23 countries and Puerto Rico. Perkins won the World Lightweight championship in 1962, lost it later that […]
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March 3rd in African American History – Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee
March 3, 1962 Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee, three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. Joyner-Kersee attended the University of California at Los Angeles from 1980 to 1984, where she starred in both track and field and basketball. She competed at four Olympic Games, the 1984 Los Angeles Games where she won the […]
March 2nd in African American History – Charles Henry Christian
March 2, 1942 Charles Henry Christian, swing and jazz guitarist, died. Christian was born July 29, 1916 in Bonham, Texas but raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. By 1936, he was playing electric guitar and had become a regional attraction. In 1939, he was hired by Benny Goodman for the newly formed Goodman sextet. By 1940, […]
March 2nd in African American History – Hank Ballard
March 2, 2003 Hank Ballard, Rhythm and Blues singer and songwriter, died. Ballard was born John Henry Kendricks on November 18, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan but raised in Bessemer, Alabama. At 15, Ballard moved back to Detroit where he began his singing career. In 1951, he formed a group which eventually became known as the […]
March 1st in African American History – Ralph Waldo Ellison
March 1, 1914 Ralph Waldo Ellison, novelist, literary critic and scholar, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1933, Ellison entered Tuskegee Institute on a music scholarship but after his third year he moved to New York City where he met Richard Wright who encouraged him to pursue a career in writing.
March 1st in African American History – Harold George “Harry” Belafonte, Jr.
March 1, 1927 Harold George “Harry” Belafonte, Jr., musician, actor and social activist, was born in New York City. Belafonte served in the United States Navy during World War II and after his discharge began his music career singing in clubs to pay for acting classes.