People, Locations, Episodes

Paul Mooney, Comedian, and Scriptwriter born

*Paul Mooney was born on this date in 1941. He was a Black comedian, writer, social critic, and actor. Born Paul Gladney in Shreveport, Louisiana, he moved to Oakland, California, when he was seven. His parents were George Gladney and LaVoya Ealy. Mooney was raised by his grandmother Aimay Ealy, known as “Mama.” Gladney coined […]

Carole Simpson, Media Journalist born

*Carole Simpson was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black media broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author. Carole Estelle Simpson was born in Chicago, Illinois.   At a young age, she became involved in drama in elementary and high school, training her to articulate and project her voice for media. 1958, Simpson […]

Melba Joy Patillo Beals, Journalist, and Activist born.

*Melba Joy Patillo Beals was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black journalist, educator, and member of the Little Rock Nine. Born in Little Rock, Ark., Patillo grew up in a family that prioritized education. Her mother, Lois Marie Pattillo, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas in […]

The Hollywood Victory Committee Negro Division is Formed

*The Hollywood Victory Committee Negro Division was created on this date in 1941. Chaired by Hattie McDaniel, this was a Black subcommittee of the white Hollywood Victory Committee. Both committees were associated with the Screen Actors Guild to support American troops during World War II. It provided a means for stage, screen, television, and radio performers […]

Janet Langhart Cohen, TV Journalist born.

*Janet Langhart Cohen was born on this date in 1941. He is a retired Black model, television journalist, and author.   She was born Janet Leola Floyd in Indianapolis, IN, and raised in Indianapolis housing projects by her mother, a maid and hospital ward secretary. Her father, Sewell Bridges, a Black man, served in World […]

John Witherspoon, Comedian, and Actor born

*John Witherspoon was born on this date in 1942. He was a Black actor and comedian. John Weatherspoon was born in Detroit, Michigan, and he later changed his last name from Weatherspoon to Witherspoon. Witherspoon was one of 11 siblings; he was passionate about music and learned to play the trumpet and French horn. His […]

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Journalist born

*Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born on this date in 1942. She is a Black journalist and civil rights activist.  Alberta Charlayne Hunter was born in Due West, South Carolina, the daughter of Col. Charles Shepherd Henry Hunter, Jr., a regimental chaplain in the U.S. Army, and his wife, the former Althea Ruth Brown. At age 12, […]

Gilbert Moses, Stage, and Media Artist born

*Gilbert Moses was born on this date in 1942. He was a Black activist, theater, television, and film actor and director. Gilbert Moses III was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and began acting as a child at Karamu House. He studied at Oberlin College and spent a year at Sorbonne University in Paris before leaving college […]

Jamaa Fanaka, Film Director, and Media Activist born

*Jamaa Fanaka was born on this date in 1942. He was an African American film director and media activist.

He was born Walter Gordon in Jackson, Miss., one of five children of Robert and Beatrice Gordon. His parents moved to the Los Angeles area when he was a boy. His father was an electrician. After serving in the Air Force, he was adrift until he entered a community college film program, which led him to the U.C.L.A. film school.

Lola Falana, Entertainer and Minister born

*On this date in 1942, Lola Falana was born. She was an American singer, dancer, model, actress, and minister. Loleta Elayne Falana was Born in Camden, New Jersey; she was the third of six children born to Bennett, a welder, and Cleo Falana, a seamstress. Her father, an Afro Cuban, left his homeland of Cuba to […]

Johnson Publishing Company is Formed

*This date in 1942 celebrates the founding of Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC), an African American print and media publishing business. Johnson Publishing Company was founded by John Harold Johnson, who was working as an office clerk for Chicago-based Supreme Life Insurance Company of America. Using money from a $500 loan secured with his mother’s furniture, […]

Sara Gómez, Filmmaker born

*Sara Gómez was born on this date in 1942.  She was an Afro Cuban filmmaker.  Sara Gómez, aka Sarita Gómez, came from the folkloric Havana neighborhood of Guanabacoa.  Her community was of Afro Cuban popular culture and a marginal sector of Cuba with many issues, such as racism and gender inequality.  She studied music (piano), […]

Bill Duke, Actor, and Director born

*Bill Duke was born on this date in 1943. He is an African American actor and film director.

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Duke received his first instruction in the performing arts at Boston University where he majored in speech and drama. After also studying at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts and the AFI Conservatory, Duke began his career behind the camera, directing episodes of several noteworthy 1980s television series, including Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice.

Don Mitchell, Actor born

*Don Mitchell was born on this date in 1943. He was an African American actor.

Leslie Uggams, Actress, and Singer born

*Leslie Uggams was born on this date in 1943.  She is a Black actress and singer.   Leslie Marian Uggams was born in Harlem, NYC, the daughter of Juanita Ernestine (Smith), a Cotton Club chorus girl/dancer, and Harold Coyden Uggams, an elevator operator and maintenance man, a singer with the Hall Johnson choir.  She attended the Professional Children’s School of New York and Juilliard. Uggams […]