*William Darity Sr. was born on January 15, 1924. He was a Black public health advocate, academic administrator, and activist. William Alexander (Bill) Darity Sr. was born in East Flat Rock, N.C. Neither of his parents, Aden Randall and Elizabeth Smith Darity, had been educated beyond the sixth grade. Still, they managed to provide a […]
learn more*John A. Lomax Jr. was born on this date in 1907. He was a white-American folklorist, performer, and land developer. John A. Lomax Jr. was born in Austin, Texas, United States. He was the son of John Avery Lomax and Bess Bauman Brown and the brother of Shirley Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Bess Lomax. He […]
learn more*Phyllis A. Wallace was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black economist and activist. She was born Annie Rebecca Wallace in Calvert County, Maryland, the first of six children born to John Wallace, a craftsman, and Stevella Wallace. She attended a well-ranked yet segregated high school, Frederick Douglass High School, graduating first […]
learn more*Mance Lipscomb was born on this date in 1895. He was a Black blues singer, guitarist, and songster. Beau De Glen “Mance” Lipscomb was from near Navasota, Texas. His father was a slave in Alabama; his mother was half African and Native American. As a youth, Lipscomb took the name Mance (short for emancipation) from […]
learn more*William Darity Jr. was born on this date in 1953. He is a Black social scientist and economist. William A. ‘Sandy’ Darity Jr. was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. His parents were William A. Darity Sr. and Evangeline Royal Darity. He has one sister. Darity Jr. graduated with a bachelor’s degree […]
learn more*Benjamin Covington’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1869. He was a Black doctor, teacher, and community activist. Benjamin Jesse Covington was born in Marlin, Texas, to formerly enslaved parents Ben and Georgiana Covington. He spent much of his early life working on a farm in Marlin, and his aptitude for surgical procedures flourished […]
learn more*Ernestine Jessie Covington Dent was born on May 19, 1904. She was a Black pianist, music educator, and community leader. Ernestine Jessie Covington was born in Houston, Texas, and was the daughter of Benjamin Jesse Covington and Jennie Belle Murphy Covington. Her father was a medical doctor; both of her parents were college graduates and […]
learn more*Albert W. Dent was born on September 25, 1904. He was a Black academic business administrator and community leader. Albert Walter Dent was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a day laborer who died shortly before Albert’s birth. His mother worked as a domestic servant to support Albert and his two sisters. The Dents […]
learn more*Jennie Belle Murphy Covington was born on this date in 1881. She was a Black feminist and activist. Jennie Belle Murphy was born in Clinton, Texas, to an unknown father and Rachel Thomas. She was raised in Dement, Texas, by her aunt and uncle, Jane and Will Jones. She attended Guadalupe College in Seguin, Texas, […]
learn more*On this date in 1955, the Attucks Tigers basketball team won the Indiana High School state championship. Attucks beat Gary’s Roosevelt High School, becoming the first all-Black school in the nation to win a state title. They included future professional star and National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. The Attucks Tigers made it to […]
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