September 29, 1948 Bryant Charles Gumbel, television journalist and sportscaster, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gumbel graduated from Bates College in 1970 and began his television career in 1972 as a sportscaster for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. Gumbel was hired by NBC Sports in 1975 as the co-host of its National Football League pre-game […]
Archive | September RSS feed for this section
September 29th in African American History – Mabel Fairbanks
September 29, 2001 Mabel Fairbanks, figure skater and coach, died. Fairbanks was born November 14, 1916 in New York City and fell in love with figure skating in the 1930s. Despite her ability, she was not allowed to join skating clubs because of her race. She was often told “we don’t have Negroes in ice […]
September 28th in African American History – Christian Abraham Fleetwood
September 28, 1914 Christian Abraham Fleetwood, Medal of Honor winner, died. Fleetwood was born July 21, 1840 in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his early education in the office of the secretary of the Maryland Colonization Society, went briefly to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and graduated in 1860 from Ashmun Institute (later Lincoln University). After the […]
September 28th in African American History – Richard Berry Harrison
September 28, 1864 Richard Berry Harrison, actor, teacher and lecturer, was born in London, Ontario, Canada, the son of formerly enslaved parents who had escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad. As a young man, Harrison moved to Detroit and began dramatic studies at the Detroit Training School of Dramatic Arts. From 1892 to 1896, […]
September 27th in African American History – Francis Gregory Alan Morris
September 27, 1933 Francis Gregory Alan Morris, television and movie actor, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Morris began his acting career in the early 1960s with guest appearances on TV shows such as “The Twilight Zone” and “Ben Casey”. In September, 1966 he was cast in his most memorable role as the electronics expert in […]
September 27th in African American History – Stephanie Diana Wilson
September 27, 1966 Stephanie Diana Wilson, the second African American woman (after Mae Jemison) to go into space, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Wilson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Science from Harvard University in 1988 and her Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in 1992. She […]
September 26th in African American History – Serena Jameka Williams
September 26, 1981 Serena Jameka Williams, World No. 1 female professional tennis player, was born in Saginaw, Michigan. Soon after her birth, Williams’ family moved to California where she started playing tennis at the age of four. Williams started playing professional tennis in 1995 but did not win her first professional singles title until 1999. […]