People, Locations, Episodes

Souleymane Cissé, Film Director born

*Souleymane Cissé was born on this date in 1940. He was a Black African film director. Born in Bamako, Mali, Souleymane Cissé was a passionate cinephile from childhood. He attended secondary school in Dakar and returned to Mali in 1960 after national independence. His film career began as an assistant projectionist for a documentary on […]

Blackface in America, a story

*Blackface in America is affirmed on this date in 1441. Blackface is a form of theatrical or media makeup. It is used mainly by white performers to portray a caricature of a black person of African descent. There is no agreement about a single moment that constitutes the origin of blackface. The journalist and cultural […]

Paul Brock, Broadcast Journalist born

*Paul Brock was born on this date in 1932.   He was a Black broadcast journalist and community activist.  An only child from Washington, D.C., Brock attended Howard University and spent eighteen years as a radio journalist before moving into television production and reporting at WBNB in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. From there, Brock became news […]

Francis Johnston, Photographer born

*Francis Johnston was born on this date in 1864. She was a White American photographer whose work included preserving early higher education of African America. An only child, Francis Benjamin Johnston was born in Grafton, West Virginia to an affluent family. She was raised in Washington, D.C. where her family moved soon after she was born. In the nation’s capitol, her parents were active in the high ranking political and social circles, and their connections, particularly her mother’s, would greatly benefit Johnston’s education and subsequent career as a photographer.

Maria Thurston Williams, Film Producer, born

*Maria Thurston Williams was born on this date in 1866. She was a Black teacher, editor, actress, and film producer.   Maria Priscilla Thurston was from Kansas City, Missouri. Williams was a one-time schoolteacher with a history of activism, independence, and interest in the liberal arts. This interest led her first to newspapers, film production, scriptwriting, […]

Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Actress born

Madame Sul-Te-Wan, an African American actress, was born on on this date in 1873. Wan was the first Black woman contracted to appear in one of the most controversial films in American Cinematic history, “Birth of a Nation.”

D. W. Griffith, Film Director born

*D. W. Griffith was born on this date in 1875. He was a white-American film director.   David Wark “D. W.” Griffith was born on a farm in Oldham County, Kentucky, the son of Jacob Wark “Roaring Jake” Griffith and Mary Perkins. His father was a Confederate Army colonel in the American Civil War who was elected […]

Bill Robinson, Dancer born

On this date in 1878, Bill Bojangles Robinson was born. He was an African American tap dancer and entertainer.

Richard S. Roberts, Photographer born

The birth of Richard Samuel Roberts in 1880, an African American still photographer, is celebrated on this date.

George Herriman, Cartoonist born

*George Herriman was born on this date in 1880. He was an African American cartoonist whose comic strip Krazy Kat has been said by many to be America’s greatest cartoon.

Noble Johnson, Actor, and Producer born

Noble Johnson was born on this date in 1881. He was a nineteenth century African American actor and producer.

Filmmaker, Oscar Micheaux born

On this date we recall the birth of Oscar Micheaux in 1884. He was an African American novelist, businessman, and pioneer filmmaker who was best known for his dramatic movies about Black life.

He was born near Murphysboro, Illinois. At the age of 17, Micheaux traveled to Chicago, where he worked as a shoeshine boy and Pullman porter. In 1904, he bought a homestead in South Dakota where the frontier environment gave him a generous amount of material for several of his most important books and movies.

William D. Foster, Film Producer, born

*This date in 1884 is celebrated as the birth date of William D. Foster. Sometimes referred to as Bill Foster, he was a pioneering Black film producer born in Chicago, Illinois. He started his career as a sportswriter for the Chicago Defender, writing under the name Juli Jones. Foster periodically wrote for other newspapers as well. […]

Arthur Wilson, Actor, and Entertainer born

*Arthur Wilson was born on this date in 1886. He was a Black actor, singer, and musician.   Arthur “Dooley” Wilson was born in Tyler, Texas, the youngest of five children. At age seven, the year of his father’s death, he began to make a living by performing in churches in Tyler. When he was eight, he made $18 a […]

Myrtle Sheldon, Illustrator born

*Myrtle Sheldon was born on this date in 1886.  She was a Black illustrator of children’s books.  She was born in Menomonee, Waukesha, Wisconsin, and illustrated many children’s books, some without attribution at the time of publication. Those publicly credited include A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, Ellen Tarry’s Janie Belle, and […]