People, Locations, Episodes

Black History and Dance in America, a story

*This date is dedicated to African American Dance. Africans brought their dances to North and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as slave labor starting in the 1500s. The dance styles of hundreds of African ethnic groups merged with European dances, forming the extension of the African aesthetic in the Americas. Dance has always been an integral part of daily life in Africa. In the Americas, it helped enslaved Africans connect with their homeland keeping their cultural traditions alive.

Saint George Boulogne, Musician, and Composer born

Joseph Boulogne “Chevalier de Saint-Georges” was born on Christmas Day, 1745. He was an African French classical music conductor, composer, musician, and military officer.

Scipio Moorhead, Artist, and Engraver born

*The birth of Scipio Moorhead around 1750 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black portrait engraver.

Joshua Johnson, Portrait Artist born

*The birth of Joshua Johnson in c.1763 is celebrated on this date.  He was a Black artist (painter). Joshua Johnson was from the Baltimore area and had African and white-European ancestry. The son of George Johnson, a white man, and a black slave woman whose name was undocumented.  His father purchased his son from his mother’s owner for 25 […]

Richard Potter, America’s First Black Magician born

The birth of Richard Potter in 1783 is celebrated on this date. He was a magician, one of the first Black illusionist in America.

Potter was born in New Hampshire, the son of an English baronet and an African servant woman. He was educated in Europe before beginning his 25-year career as a performer in post-Revolutionary America. He lived with his father in Hopkinton, NH, until he married his wife, Sally, and had three children.

John Audubon, Artist, and Slave-Owner born

*John Audubon was born on this date in 1785. He was a Black French American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He painted, cataloged, and described the birds of North America.

Saartjie Baartman, Objectified African Woman born

*The birth of Saartjie Baartman in 1789 is celebrated on this date. She was a South African entertainer and objectified Black woman.

Elizabeth T. Greenfield, Vocalist born

On this date, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield was born in 1817. She was a Black singer whose exceptional voice made her a popular performer in Great Britain.

Justin Holland, Classical Guitarist born

The birth of Justin Holland in 1819 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black classical musician.

David Bowser, Portrait Artist born

*David Bowser was born on this date in 1820.   He was a Black ornamental artist and portraitist.   Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, David Bustill Bowser was a grandson of Cyrus Bustill, a former slave who purchased his freedom and went on to become a founding member of Philadelphia’s Free African Society, and a son of oyster house proprietor Jeremiah Bowser, whose freedom […]

Robert Duncanson, Artist born

The birth of Robert S. Duncanson in 1821 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black artist.

Master Juba, Minstrel Performer born

*The birth of Master Juba is celebrated on this date in 1825. He was a Black stage entertainer specializing in dance and one of America’s first publicly recognized black performers.  Born William Henry Lane in Providence, RI, he began his career in the saloons and dance halls of the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan in […]

Charles Lucien Lambert, Composer born

*The birth of Charles Lucien Lambert is celebrated on this date in 1828. Also known as Lucien Lambert, Sr., he was a Black pianist, music teacher, and composer. Born a free Black Creole in New Orleans. His father was Charles-Richard Lambert, a native of New York, and his mother was a free Creole African woman. They were […]

Frederic Bartholdi, Artist, and Sculptor born

*Frederic Bartholdi was born on this date in 1834.  He was a white-French artist and sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty for France as a gift to the United States of America. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was born in Colmar, France, to a family of Italian and German Protestant heritage.  Bartholdi was the youngest of […]

Adah Menkens, Actress, and Poet born

On this date, we recall the birth of Adah Menkens in 1835. She was a Black actress and poet of international renown in the mid-19th century.