October 7, 1992 Ed Blackwell, jazz drummer, died. Blackwell was born October 10, 1929 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his career in the 1950s and first came to national attention as the drummer with Ornette Coleman’s quartet around 1960. Blackwell was one of the great innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, […]
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October 6th in African American History – Joseph Echols Lowery
October 6, 1921 Joseph Echols Lowery, minister and “the dean of the Civil Rights Movement,” was born in Huntsville, Alabama. Lowery earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Paine College and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Paine Theological Seminary in 1950. He later completed a doctorate of divinity degree at the Chicago Ecumenical Institute.
October 6th in African American History – John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil
October 6, 2006 John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil, Negro League baseball player and manager and the first African American to coach in the major leagues, died. O’Neil was born November 13, 1911 in Carrabelle, Florida. In 1937, he signed a contract with the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro League. The next year his contract was […]
October 5th in African American History – Edward James “Eddie” Kendricks
October 5, 1992 Edward James “Eddie” Kendricks, singer and songwriter, died. Kendricks was born December 17, 1939 in Union Springs, Alabama. In 1955, he and three friends formed a group called The Cavaliers who moved to Detroit in 1957 and changed their name to The Primes. In 1961, Kendricks joined The Elgins who signed with […]
October 5th in African American History – William Karnet Willis
October 5, 1921 William Karnet Willis, hall of fame football player, was born in Columbus, Ohio. Willis played college football at Ohio State University and in 1944 was named an All-American. After graduating in 1945, he took a job as head football coach at Kentucky State College. Since the National Football League unofficially barred African […]
October 4th in African American History – Hubert Gerold “H. Rap” Brown
October 4, 1943 Hubert Gerold “H. Rap” Brown, social activist, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In the early 1960s, Brown became active with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and in 1967 was named chairman of the organization. In 1968, he left SNCC and joined the Black Panthers, eventually becoming justice minister. One of […]
October 4th in African American History – Arthur Stewart Farmer
October 4, 1999 Arthur Stewart Farmer, jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player, died. Farmer was born August 21, 1928 in Council Bluff, Iowa but raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He began his musical education by studying the piano and violin. He moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of 16 and worked as a musician from […]