People, Locations, Episodes

Romare Bearden, Artist born

On this date in 1911, Romare Bearden, African American and one of the 20th century’s most important artists, was born.

The Lafayette Theater Opens

*The Lafayette Theatre is celebrated on this date. In New York, this was one of the first stage houses in America where Black artist performed.

Nina McKinney, Actress born

*Nina M. McKinney is remembered on this date, born in 1912. She was an African American actress and entertainer; she was one of the first Black actress’ to make her name in American cinema.

Anne W. Brown, Stage Singer born

*On this date Anne Wiggins Brown was born in 1912, She was an African American singer and entertainer.

Had it not been for Brown, George Gershwin’s folk opera Porgy and Bess might be known by its original name Porgy. From a well-to-do family in Baltimore, Maryland, Brown was obsessed with being a star at an early age. Her mother enrolled her in private schools including the Peabody School of Music where she constantly ran into the barriers of racism. Undaunted, she kept her dreams alive, they included plays and musicals where she sang everything from Bach to Blues.

Bernice Cross, Artist, and Art Instructor born

*Bernice Cross was born on this date in 1912. She was a Black artist and art instructor based in Washington, D.C., for most of her professional career. Her full name was Bernice Francena Cross, and she was born in Iowa City, Iowa, as an only child. Her father was Frank Wallace Cross, a lifelong Iowa resident; her […]

Thelma Streat, Artist born

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

Cholly Atkins, Dancer, and Choreographer born

Cholly Atkins was born on this date in 1913. He was an African American choreographer and dancer.

Born Charles Atkinson in Pratt City, AL, Atkins learned to dance from his mother. After winning a Charleston dance contest in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1923, Atkins became a singing waiter, soon teaming up with William Porter in a tap act called the Rhythm Pals. They broke up in the late 1930s, after which Atkins took the name Cholly, similar to a news columnist of the day.

Charles Sebree, Artist, and Playwright born

*This date in 1914 is celebrated as the birth date of Charles Sebree. He was a Black artist and playwright best known for his involvement in Chicago’s black arts community of the 1930s and 1940s.  Charles Sebree was born in White City, located in eastern Kentucky. In 1924, his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois, which exposed Sebree […]

Ernest Crichlow, Artist born

*Ernest Crichlow was born on this date in 1914.  He was an African American social realist artist.   Ernest Crichlow was born in Brooklyn, New York to Caribbean immigrants. He studied art at the School of Commercial Illustrating and Advertising Art in New York and New York University. Crichlow started work as an artist in a studio sponsored by Works Progress Administration’s  Federal Art […]

Fayad Nicholas, Dancer, and Choreographer born

*Fayard Nicholas was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American dancer and choreographer.

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, Actress, and Playwright born

*Gertrude Hadley Jeannette was born on this date in 1914. She was a Black playwright, film, and stage actress.   Born Salley Gertrude Crawford Hadley in Urbana, Arkansas, her mother was a homemaker. Willis Lawrence Hadley, her father, taught at a Native American reservation near Spiro, Oklahoma.  Jeannette had five brothers and one sister and grew up on a farm. The family moved […]

Karamu House (Theater Company) Opens

The founding of the Karamu House in 1915 is celebrated on this date. Located in Cleveland, OH, the Karamu house is the oldest Black Theater Company in America.

Orson Welles, Stage and Film Director born

*Orson Welles was born on this date in 1915. He was a white-American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. George Orson Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the son of Richard Head Welles and Beatrice Ives Welles. His parents separated and moved to Chicago in 1919. His father, who made a fortune as an […]

Hughie Lee-Smith, Florida Artist born

*Hughie Lee Smith was born on this date in 1915,. He was an African American artist.

From Eustis Florida, his parents were Luther and Alice Williams Smith. Later he changed his last name to Lee-Smith after he and his art school classmates decided Smith was too ordinary a name for a distinguished painter. Lee-Smith began drawing at a very early age. Shaped by the Great Depression and the WPA artists of the late 1930s, Lee-Smith’s earliest work was fired by social concerns and longing for a better, more democratic ideal for the future of America.

Lawrence Winters, Opera Vocalist born

*Lawrence Winters was born on this date in 1915.  He was a Black opera singer with an active international career from the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s.   Lawrence Lafayette Whisonant was from King’s Creek, South Carolina.  He began to study singing privately before entering Howard University in 1941, where he studied singing with Todd Duncan. After […]