May 14, 1913 Clara Stanton Jones, the first African American director of a major city public library, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Jones earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Spelman College in 1934 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Library Science in 1938 from the University of Michigan. Between 1938 and 1944, […]
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May 13th in African American History – Mary Esther Wells
May 13, 1943 Mary Esther Wells, singer and The Queen of Motown, was born in Detroit, Michigan. By the age of 10 Wells had moved from singing in church choirs to performing in nightclubs around Detroit. In 1960 she was signed to Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown, and wrote and recorded “Bye Bye Baby” […]
May 13th in African American History – Joseph Louis Barrow (Joe Louis)
May 13, 1914 Joseph Louis Barrow (Joe Louis), hall of fame boxer known as “the Brown Bomber,” was born in La Fayette, Alabama. He and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1926. Louis made his amateur boxing debut in 1932 and at the end of his amateur career in 1934 had compiled a record […]
May 12th in African American History – Alwyn Lopez “Al” Jarreau
May 12, 1940 Alwyn Lopez “Al” Jarreau, vocalist, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jarreau earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Ripon College in 1962 and a Master’s Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation from the University of Iowa in 1964. In 1968, he decided to make music his primary occupation and began playing in […]
May 12th in African American History – Oscar Stanton De Priest
May 12, 1951 Oscar Stanton De Priest, the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century, died. De Priest was born March 9, 1871 in Florence, Alabama. In 1889, he moved to Chicago where he became a successful contractor and real estate broker and built a fortune by helping black families move into […]
May 11th in African American History – Nnamdi Azikiwe
May 11, 1996 Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria, died. Azikiwe was born November 16, 1904 in Zungeru, Nigeria. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1931 from Lincoln University and a master’s degree in 1933 from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1934, he returned to Africa and became the […]