December 20, 2001 Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and the first President of Senegal, died. Senghor was born October 9, 1906 in Joal, Senegal. His father was a successful businessman and this allowed him to attend the best schools in Senegal and earn a scholarship to study in France where he graduated from the University of […]
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December 13th in African American History – Dale Raymond Wright
December 13, 2009 Dale Raymond Wright, award-winning and barrier-breaking journalist, died. Wright was born July 19, 1923 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. He was among the first group of African Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and attained the rank of staff sergeant. After the war, he earned his undergraduate […]
December 11th in African American History – Lewis Howard Latimer
December 11, 1928 Lewis Howard Latimer, inventor and draftsman, died. Latimer was born September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He joined the United States Navy at the age of 15 and after receiving an honorable discharge joined a patent law firm as a draftsman at the age of 17. On February 10, 1874, Latimer shared […]
December 9th in African American History – James Moody
December 9, 2010 James Moody, jazz saxophonist and flute player, died. Moody was born March 26, 1925 in Savannah, Georgia. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1943 and played in the “Negro band” on a segregated base until he was discharged in 1946. In 1948, he relocated to Europe because he had […]
December 8th in African American History – Julian Carey Dixon
December 8, 2000 Julian Carey Dixon, politician, died. Dixon was born August 8, 1934 in Washington, D.C. He served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1960 and in 1962 earned his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University. In 1967, he earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Southwestern University School […]
December 6th in African American History – Frantz Fanon
December 6, 1961 Frantz Fanon, psychiatrist, revolutionary, and author, died. Fanon was born July 20, 1925 on the Caribbean island of Martinique. He served in the French army during World War II. Fanon’s service in the French army and his experiences in Martinique fueled his first book, “Black Skin, White Masks,” (1952) which analyzed the […]
December 4th in African American History – Joe Brown
December 4, 1997 Joe Brown, hall of fame boxer, died. Brown was born May 18, 1925 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He began his professional boxing career at the age of 17 but it was interrupted by World War II. During his almost two years in the United States Navy, Brown took part in seven Pacific […]