People, Locations, Episodes

The Musical ‘Shuffle Along’ Debuts on Broadway

On this date in 1921, “Shuffle Along” became one of the earliest African American Broadway Musicals. The show was an all-Black musical comedy by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle.

“Shuffle Along” was written, produced, directed, and performed by Blacks. This musical comedy was tried out in Harlem; Washington, DC; New Jersey; and Philadelphia before it opened in New York and set the pattern for Black musicals for many years after its premiere. “Shuffle Along” gave us such hit songs as: “Shuffle Along,” “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” “Gypsy Blues,” and “Love Will Find A Way.”

George T. Walker, Classical Musician born

*George T. Walker was born on this date in 1922. He was a Black classical composer, pianist, organist, and educator. George Theophilus Walker was born in Washington, D.C. His father emigrated from Kingston, Jamaica, to the United States, where he became a physician after graduating from Temple University School of Medicine. His mother, Rosa King, supervised her son’s first piano lessons when he […]

Percival Borde, Choreographer born

*Percival Borde was born on this date in 1922. He was an Afro Caribbean dancer-choreographer, educator, and scholar. From Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Percival Sebastian Borde was the son of veterinarians George Paul Borde and Augustine Francis Lambie. He was raised in Trinidad and attended Queen Royal College. In his early career, he […]

Samella Sanders Lewis, Visual Artist, Professor, and Art Historian born

*Samella Sanders Lewis was born on this date in 1923. She was a Black visual artist, professor, and art historian. Samella Sanders was born to Samuel Sanders and Rachel Taylor Sanders in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was a domestic worker. Widely exhibited and […]

Clara Ledesma Terrazas, Afro Dominican Artist born

*Clara Ledesma Terrazas was born on this date in 1924. She was an Afro Dominican artist and teacher.   Clara Ledesma was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.   She initially studied art under Yoryi Morel in his academy in that city. Ledesma later enrolled in the National School of Fine Arts in Santo […]

Julia Perry, Classical Composer, and Teacher born

*Julia Perry was born on this date in 1924. She was a Black classical composer and teacher. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Julia Amanda Perry studied voice, piano, and composition at the Westminster Choir College from 1943–48. There, she received her B.M. and M.M. She continued her graduate studies at Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood and later studied at the Juilliard School of Music. Around this time, she was […]

Richard Mayhew, Artist born

*Richard Mayhew was born on this date in 1924. He is an Afro Native American landscape painter, illustrator, and arts educator. Richard Mayhew was born in Amityville, New York, to Alvin Mayhew, of African and Shinnecock tribe descent, and his mother, Lillian Goldman Mayhew, was of African and Cherokee-Lumbee descent. His mother would take him to New York City to see paintings, and George Inness’s […]

John Biggers, Artist born

On this date in 1924, John Biggers was born. He was a gifted, African American artist.

From Gastonia, North Carolina, he was born in a shotgun house built by his father Paul. His father was a Baptist preacher, schoolteacher, farmer, principal of a three-room school, and shoemaker. His mother, Cora, did laundry and cooked for white families. Biggers was the youngest of seven in a tightly knit family that valued education and creative endeavors.

Ed Wilson, Sculptor born

*This date marks the birth of Ed Wilson in 1925. A Black sculptor, he was known for figurative works that are typically created in metal.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Wilson became interested in art as a child while recovering from rheumatic fever. After serving in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, he studied painting at the University of Iowa but eventually switched his focus to sculpture. After earning his M.A. degree from the University of Iowa in 1953, Wilson taught at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central College) in Durham.

LeRoy Foster, Artist born

*LeRoy Foster was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black Gay painting artist. Foster was born in Detroit and lived there his entire life, except for a brief time when he studied Art in Europe in the 1940s. Foster began drawing at age five or six and was an exceptional art student, recognized by teachers […]

Mattiwilda Dobbs, Opera Singer born

*Mattiwilda Dobbs was born on this date in 1925. She was an African American operatic and gospel singer.

Leontyne Price, Opera Singer born

*Leontyne Price was born on this date in 1927. She is an African American operatic singer.

Sam Middleton, Artist born

*Sam Middleton was born on this date in 1927. He was a Black mixed-media artist.  Middleton was born and raised in Harlem, New York City. As a young boy, he often visited the nearby Savoy Ballroom, where jazz and classical music became important inspirations for his artistic endeavors. While working at the Savoy, Middleton designed costumes […]

Artis Lane, Sculptor, and Printmaker born

On this date in 1927, Artis Lane was born. She is an African Canadian sculptor, painter, and printmaker.

Born Artis Marie Shreve in North Buxton, Ontario, Canada, when she was six, she was kneeling in the clay of her grandmother’s farm and fashioning dolls. Ever since, she has been capturing souls and conjuring them into images of unfolding life. A descendant of abolitionist, educator, and publisher Mary Ann Shadd, the soft-spoken painter and sculptor, is an advocate for freeing the human spirit.

The ‘Lindy Hop’ Dance Goes Public

*On this date in 1927, the Lindy Hop dance was publicly introduced to the world. Lindy hop is an African American dance that was born in Harlem, New York City.    On that date, the Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis airplane completed the first transatlantic flight by air; the Newspaper reported “Lindy Hops the Atlantic,” and the dance […]