January 28, 1960 Zora Neale Hurston, author and playwright, died. Hurston was born January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama but raised in Eatonville, Florida, the first all-black town to be incorporated in the United States. Hurston described the experience of growing up in Eatonville in her 1928 essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” […]
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Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. – December 28th in African American History
December 28, 1952 Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr., pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, died. Henderson was born December 18, 1897 in Cuthbert, Georgia. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Atlanta University in 1920. After graduating, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University for a master’s degree in chemistry. However, […]
Melvin Beaunorus Tolson – February 6th in African American History
February 6, 1898 Melvin Beaunorus Tolson, educator and poet, was born in Moberly, Missouri. Tolson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Lincoln University in 1923 and his Master of Arts degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in 1940. Shortly after receiving his undergraduate degree, Tolson took a position as […]
April 1st in African American History – William Manning Marable
April 1, 2011 William Manning Marable, educator, author, and activist, died. Marable was born May 13, 1950 in Dayton, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Earlham College in 1971, his Master of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1972, and his Ph. D. from the University of Maryland in 1976. […]
Thelma Lucille Sayles (Lucille Clifton) – June 27th in African American History
June 27, 1936 Thelma Lucille Sayles (Lucille Clifton), poet and educator, was born in Depew, New York. Clifton graduated from the State University of New York in 1955 and over the next 15 years worked for the New York State Division of Employment and the federal Office of Education. In 1996, her poetry was included […]
Betty Shabazz – June 23rd in African American History
June 23, 1997 Betty Shabazz, educator and widow of Malcolm X, died. Shabazz was born Betty Dean Sanders on May 28, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan. After high school, she entered Tuskegee Institute and while in Alabama first encountered racism. As a result, Shabazz moved to New York City and enrolled at the Brooklyn State Hospital […]
Leon Howard Sullivan – April 24th in African American History
April 24, 2001 Leon Howard Sullivan, minister, civil rights leader, and activist, died. Sullivan was born October 16, 1922 in Charleston, West Virginia. He was ordained a Baptist minister at the age of 18. Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from West Virginia State University in 1943 and a Master of Arts degree in […]