January 1, 1977 Roland W. Hayes, lyric tenor and the first African American male concert artist to receive international acclaim, died. Hayes was born June 3, 1887 in Curryville, Georgia. He began publicly performing with the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1911. From 1916 to 1919, he toured throughout the United States, arranging his own recitals. […]
Tag Archives | January 1
Juneteenth Celebrations – June 19th in African American History
June 19, 1865, or Juneteenth, was the day the African American slaves in Texas received notice by Union Major-General Gordon Granger that they were forever free. President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated earlier in April of that year, had signed the Emancipation Proclamation that went into effect on January 1, 1863, freeing all the slaves in the […]