September 15, 1945 Jessye Mae Norman, opera singer, was born in Augusta, Georgia. At the age of nine, Norman heard opera for the first time and was immediately an opera fan. She credits Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price as inspiring figures in her career. In 1966, Norman won the National Society of Arts and Letters […]
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September 15th in African American History – The National Afro-American Council
September 15, 1898 The National Afro-American Council, the first nationwide civil rights organization in the United States, was founded in Rochester, New York. The council was the brainchild of New York journalist Timothy Thomas Fortune and was led for most of its existence by A. M. E. Zion Bishop Alexander Walters. Other officers of the […]
September 14th in African American History – Beau Richards
September 14, 2000 Beau Richards, stage, film and television actress died. Born Beulah Richardson on July 12, 1920 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Richards graduated from Dillard University in 1948 and two years later moved to New York. Her career started to take off in 1955 with her appearance in the off-Broadway production of “Take a Giant […]
September 14th in African American History – Constance Baker Motley
September 14, 1921 Constance Baker Motley, civil rights activist, lawyer and judge, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Motley earned a B. A. degree from New York University in 1943 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. She began her career as a law clerk at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, eventually […]
September 13th in African American History – Tupac Amaru Shakur
September 13, 1996 Tupac Amaru Shakur, hip hop rapper and actor, died as the result of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Shakur was born June 16, 1971 in New York City and was named after Tupac Amaru II, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed. In 1986, […]
September 13th in African American History – Nell Ruth Hardy (Nell Carter)
September 13, 1948 Nell Ruth Hardy (Nell Carter), singer and film, stage and television actress, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Carter broke into stardom with her stage performance in “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, for which she won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She also won a 1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding […]
September 12th in African American History – Barrence Eugene Carter (Barry White)
September 12, 1944 Barrence Eugene Carter (Barry White), singer, songwriter and record producer, was born in Galveston, Texas. He began his musical career in the early 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the mid-1960s. He got his big break, producing a female group he had discovered called Love Unlimited. Their […]