People, Locations, Episodes

Marcus B. Christian, Poet, and Teacher born

*Marcus B. Christian was born on this date in 1900. He was an African American poet, and educator.

From Mechanicsville (Houma), LA, he was the son of Emanuel and Rebbecca (Harris) Christian, Sr. Marcus Bruce Christian was educated at Houma Academy in New Orleans, from 1906-1913. He and his family moved to New Orleans in 1919. Christian also started Bluebird Cleaners in 1926. From 1932-1976, his writing career began and flourished with the Louisiana Weekly, New Orleans, as poetry editor and as a special feature writer.

Wilhemina Crosson, Educator, Writer, and Administrator born

*Wilhelmina Crosson was born on this date in 1900. She was a Black educator and school administrator known for her innovative teaching methods. Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, to Charles Tasker Crosson and Sallie Alice Davis Crosson. She was the fourth of nine children. 1906, Crosson moved with her family to […]

The Colored American Magazine is Published

*May 19, 1900 celebrates the first publication of the Colored American Magazine (CAM). This was one of the first monthly magazines created for the national African American consumer.

Lewis Alexander, Writer born

*Lewis Alexander was born on this date in 1900. He was and African American writer and actor.

Cyril Lionel James, Journalist born

Cyril Lionel Robert James was born on this date in 1901. He was an Afro Trinidadian journalist, socialist theorist, and writer.

James was born in Trinidad and Tobago, then a British Crown colony. The son of a schoolteacher from Tunapuna, Trinidad, he was strongly influenced by his mother who was an avid reader.

Sterling Brown, Professor, and Poet born

Sterling Allen Brown was born on this date in 1901. He was an African American English professor and literary critic whose poetry was rooted in folklore sources and Black dialect.

He was born in Washington, D. C., the son of a professor at Howard University. His father, Reverend Sterling Nelson Brown, had been born a slave but after the Civil War, he managed to attend Fisk University and Oberlin College, became a pastor, and later a professor of religion at Howard. His mother was also a graduate of Fisk University.

Regina Anderson, Playwright, and Librarian born

This date celebrates the birth of Regina M. Anderson in 1901. She was an African American librarian, playwright, and patron of the arts.

Clarrisa Scott Delaney, Poet born

The birth of Clarissa Scott Delaney in 1901 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American educator, poet, and social worker.

Gwendolyn Bennett, Poet, and Artist born

Gwendolyn Bennett was born on this date in 1902. She was an African American poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist who was a vital figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Nicolas Guillen, Afro Cuban Poet born

Nicolas’ Guillen was born on this date in 1902. He was an Afro Cuban poet, writer, journalist, and social activist.

From Camageuey, Cuba, he was the sixth child of Argelia Batista y Arrieta and Nicolas’ Guillen y Urra, both of whom were of mixed African-Spanish decent. Guillen’s fathe, a journalist, introduced him to Afro-Cuban music when he was very young. His father was assassinated by the Cuban government, and as Nicolas and his brothers and sister finished school in pre-revolutionary Cuba, they encountered the same racism Black Americans lived with before the 1950s.

Wallace Thurman, Editor, and Playwright born

*This date marks the birth of Wallace Henry Thurman in 1902. He was an African American editor, critic, novelist, and playwright associated with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

Arna Bontemps, Poet, and Teacher born

Arna W. Bontemps, an African American writer born in Alexandria, LA, was born on this date in 1902.

Bontemps received a B.A. from the Pacific Union College of California in 1923, and an M. A. from the University of Chicago in 1943. He was a teacher at every level of education.

Annie G. Nelson, Writer, and Dramatist born

*Annie Green Nelson was born on this date in 1902. She was an African American writer.

Carrie Best, Writer, and Publisher born

*Carrie Best was born on this date in 1903. She was a Black Canadian writer, publisher and activist.

From New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, she graduated from high school in the 1920’s after which she married her husband Albert Best. Together they had three children, a son Calbert and two girls Sharyn and Berma. Best was extremely involved in the community, raising awareness about human rights issues.

Marvel Cooke, Writer, Teacher, and Activist born

*On this date in 1903, Marvel Cooke was born. She was an African American journalist, writer, and civil rights activist.