People, Locations, Episodes

The Frogs Club, (Artists Organization) is Formed

On this date in 1908, The Frogs Club was organized in New York. The Frogs was a group of African American theatrical professionals.

James Hampton, Folk Artist born

*On this date in 1909, James Hampton was born. He was an African American folk artist.

Norman Lewis, Painting Artist born

Norman Lewis was born on this date in 1909. He was an African American painter.

Ermine Hall Allen, Vocalist born

*Ermine Hall Allen was born on this date in 1910.  She was a Black classical vocalist and educator. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota’s Rondo community, she was the youngest of two daughters to S.Edward. and Harriet ‘Hattie’ Grissom Hall.  Her older sister Dorothy was a music teacher.  Ermine’s first performances were impromptu affairs. At age […]

Allan Crite, Artist born

*Allan Rohan Crite was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black painter.

From Plainfield, New Jersey, he moved to Boston as a child where he spent most of his life. Crite was one of the few African American artists to work for the Federal Arts Project (FAP). During the 1930s, he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and Harvard University Extension School. In his later years, as a devout Episcopalian, Crite focused on religious themes, completing murals and other paintings for many churches.

Wilmer Jennings, Artist, and Printmaker born

*This date in 1910 is celebrated as the birth date of Wilmer Jennings, a Black printmaker, artist, and jeweler. Wilmer Angier Jennings was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, Jennings studied under the artist Hale Woodruff, who introduced him to the principles of modernism. Under the Graphic Arts Division of the Works Progress Association (WPA) in 1934, […]

Katherine Dunham, Choreographer, and Dancer born

Katherine Dunham was born on this date in 1910. She was an African American choreographer and dancer.

Kapo, Afro Caribbean Spiritual Artist born

*On this date in 1911, Kapo was born. He was an Afro Caribbean painter and sculptor.

From Byuloss in Saint Catherine parish in Jamaica, he was born Mallica Reynolds. Kapo was totally self-taught as an artist. His extremely intuitive art was an extension of his spiritual development, which led him into a life of service to the people of his homeland as a religious leader. Kapo’s first paintings were done in the mid-1940’s consisting of straightforward religious symbols.

Charles H. Coles, Dancer born

On this date in 1911 Charles “Honi” Coles, an African American tap dancer, was born.

Portia White, Classical Vocalist born

Portia White, an African Canadian classical singer, was born on this date in 1911.

Portia May White was born in the town of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada to the Reverend William Andrew White and Izie Dora White. She made her musical debut at the age of six in her father’s church choir. At the age of 17, while teaching school, she received her first break, winning a silver cup in the Nova Scotia Music Festival.

Josie Woods, Choreographer born

*Josie Woods was born on this date in 1912. She was a Black British dancer, choreographer, and activist. Woods was born Josephine Lucy Wood in Canning Town, London, in 1912. Her father, Charles Wood, was from Dominica, and her mother, Emily, had Gypsy ancestry. As a teenager, Woods worked as a seamstress before entering vaudeville. […]

Philip Simmons, Artist born.

*Philip Simmons was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black artisan and blacksmith specializing in the craft of ironwork. Philip Simmons was born in Daniel Island, South Carolina. His grandparents raised him before he was sent to Charleston in 1920 to live with his mother when he was eight. Simmons resided on Vernon Street […]

Thelma Streat, Artist born

*Thelma Streat was born on this date in 1912. She was an African American Artist, Dancer, Educator and Folklorist.

Etta Baker, Folk Artist born

*Etta Baker was born on this date in 1913. She was an African American singer, composer, and musician one of the last surviving original American folk-blues performers.

Gwendolyn Knight, Sculptor born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Gwendolyn Knight in 1913. She was an African American sculptor.

From Barbados, West Indies, she came to the United States with her family when she was seven. She lived in St. Louis until she was in her early teens, when she moved again with her family to New York. She cannot remember when she first decided to become an artist but recalls completing her first paintings when she was eight or nine years old. Harlem helped raise her. It was a rich time in that part of New York.