February 13, 2010 Lucille Clifton, writer and educator, died. Clifton was born Thelma Lucille Sayles on June 27, 1936 in Depew, New York. She graduated from the State University of New York in 1955 and worked as a claims clerk in the New York State Division of Employment and as a literature assistant in the […]
Tag Archives | Pulitzer Prize
November 23rd in African American History – Gerald Michael Boyd
November 23, 2006 Gerald Michael Boyd, the first African American metropolitan editor and managing editor at the New York Times, died. Boyd was born October 3, 1950 in St. Louis, Missouri. He won a scholarship to the University of Missouri-Columbia and after graduating in 1973 joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where he worked as a […]
October 27th in African American History – John Oliver Killens
October 27, 1987 John Oliver Killens, novelist, died. Killens was born January 14, 1916 in Macon, Georgia. He attended a number of institutions of higher learning, including Morris Brown College, Howard University, and Columbia University, but never earned a degree. After serving in the military, Killens moved to New York City in 1948 to focus […]
October 20th in African American History – The Johnny Bright Incident
October 20, 1951 The Johnny Bright Incident occurred when African American football player, Johnny Bright, was violently assaulted by white football player, Wilbanks Smith, during a college football game between Drake University and Oklahoma State University. In 1951, Bright was a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate and led the nation in total offense. The game marked […]
October 18th in African American History – Wynton Learson Marsalis
October 18, 1961 Wynton Learson Marsalis, jazz and classical music trumpeter and composer, was born in New Orleans, Lousiana. At the age of 8, Marsalis was performing traditional New Orleans music in the church band and at 14 he was invited to perform with the New Orleans Philharmonic. While in high school, he was also […]
October 10th in African American History – Thelonious Monk
October 10, 1917 Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jr., jazz pianist and composer, was born in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. Monk started playing the piano at age six and although he had some formal training, he was essentially self-taught. In the early to mid-1940s, Monk served as the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse which featured most of […]
October 2nd in African American History – Frederick August Wilson
October 2, 2005 Frederick August Wilson, playwright, died. Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and used the Carnegie Library to educate himself. He made such extensive use of the library that they later awarded him a degree, the […]