June 9, 2000 Jacob Lawrence, painter, and educator, died. Lawrence was born September 7, 1919 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He attended classes at the Harlem Art Workshop and earned a scholarship to the American Artists School. Throughout his artistic career, Lawrence concentrated on depicting the history and struggles of African Americans.
Tag Archives | educator
June 2nd in African American History – Cornel Ronald West
June 2, 1953 Cornel Ronald West, educator, author, and civil rights activist, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but grew up in Sacramento, California. West earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from Harvard College in 1973. He went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in 1975 and […]
May 21st in African American History – Katherine Mary Dunham
May 21, 2006 Katherine Mary Dunham, dancer, choreographer, author, educator, activist, and “Matriarch and Queen Mother of Black Dance,” died. Dunham was born June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She became fascinated with dance at a young age and while in high school started a dance school for young black children. Dunham studied dance […]
May 18th in African American History – Mary Jane McLeod Bethune
May 18, 1955 Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader, died. Bethune was born July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina. She attended Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College) from 1888 to 1894 and then Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions (now Moody Bible Institute). In 1904, Bethune rented a small house […]
April 21st in African American History – Robert Blackburn
April 21, 2003 Robert Blackburn, artist, printmaker and educator, died. Blackburn was born December 19, 1920 in Summit, New Jersey. As a teenager, he was mentored by several Harlem Renaissance artists, including Charles “Spanky” Alston and Augusta Savage. Blackburn studied lithography, etching, woodblock, and silk-screening at the WPA Harlem Community Art Center.
April 20th in African American History – Dorothy Irene Height
April 20, 2010 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, died. Height was born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they […]