March 15, 1929 Cecil Percival Taylor, jazz pianist and poet, was born in New York City. Taylor began playing piano at the age of six and studied at the New York College of Music and New England Conservatory. He formed his own band and released his first recording, “Jazz Advance,” in 1956. In 1964, Taylor […]
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Francis Ellen Watkins Harper – February 22nd in African American History
February 22, 1911 Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, abolitionist and poet, died. Harper was born September 24, 1825 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was an only child to free African American parents and when her mother died when she was only three, she wen to live with her aunt and uncle. She attended school for black youths until […]
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 […]
Sterling Allen Brown – January 13th in African American History
January 13, 1989 Sterling Allen Brown, professor, poet, and literary critic, died. Brown was born May 1, 1901 in Washington D.C. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Williams College in 1922 and his Master of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1923. Brown began his teaching career at several universities […]
February 23rd in African American History – Donald Luther Lee (Haki R. Madhubuti)
February 23, 1942 Donald Luther Lee (Haki R. Madhubuti), author, poet and educator, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Madhubuti served in the United States Army from 1960 to 1963 and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1984.
February 22nd in African American History – Ishmael Scott Reed
February 22, 1938 Ishmael Scott Reed, poet, essayist, and novelist, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but raised in Buffalo, New York. Reed attended the University of Buffalo before moving to New York City in 1962 and co-founding the “East Village Other,” a well know underground publication.
February 18th in African American History – Audre Geraldine Lorde
February 18, 1934 Audre Geraldine Lorde, writer, poet, and activist, was born in New York City. Legally blind, Lorde wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in library science from Hunter College in 1959 and her Master of Library Science degree from Columbia University […]