People, Locations, Episodes

Chester Himes, Writer born

Chester Himes was born on this date in 1909 in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was an African American writer whose novels and autobiographies explore the absurdity of racism.

Eliza Atkins Gleason, Librarian born

*Eliza Atkins Gleason was born on this date in 1909. She was a Black librarian, university dean, and administrator. Eliza Valeria Atkins was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Simon Green Atkins and Olenona Pegram Atkins. Her parents were educators; her mother was a teacher, and her father was the founder and first president of […]

Govan Mbeki, Activist, and Politician born

*Govan Mbeki was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black South African politician, journalist, Communist, and activist. Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki, who belongs to the Xhosa ethnic group, was born in the Nqamakwe district of the Transkei region. He was the son of Chief Sikelewu Mbeki and Johanna Mahala and the father […]

The Crisis Magazine Is Published

*On this date in 1910, The Crisis magazine was published. This is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Mary Dunlop Maclean. The Crisis has been in continuous print since 1910, the oldest black-oriented magazine in […]

William ‘Bill’ Huie, Author born

*William “Bill” Huie was born on this date in 1910. He was a white-American journalist and author whose work intersected with the 20th-century American Civil Rights movement.   Born in Hartselle, Alabama, William Bradford Huie was the son of John Bradford and Margaret Lois (Brindley) Huie and the eldest of three children. He attended Morgan County High School and […]

Augusta Baker, Librarian, and Educator born

Augusta Braxton Baker, an African American librarian and storyteller, was born on this date in 1911.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Braxton was the only child of parents who introduced her to the joys of reading at an early age. In 1917, she enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh. She married at the end of her sophomore year, transferring to the New York College for Teachers in Albany, New York. Baker received a B.A. (1933) in education and a B.S. (1934) in library science from that college, moving to New York City soon after.

Jackie Ormes, Cartoonist, and Journalist born

The birth of Jackie Ormes in 1917 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American newspaper writer and cartoonist.

Eric Williams, Author, and Politician born

*Eric Williams was born on this date in 1911. He was an Afro Caribbean author, politician, and activist. Eric Eustace Williams was born in Trinidad. His father, Thomas Henry Williams, was a minor civil servant. Eliza Frances Boissiere’s mother was a descendant of the mixed French Creole elite and had African and French ancestry. He attended the Tranquillity […]

William Attaway, Writer born

William Attaway was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American novelist, essayist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and song writer.

Fanny Ellison, Writer and Editor born

*Fanny Ellison was born on this date in 1911. She was a Black editor, writer, and literary activist. Born Fannie Mae McConnell in Louisville, Kentucky, she was the daughter of Ulysses McConnell and Willie Mae Brock. Her parents divorced when she was a year old, and her mother took her to Pueblo and Denver, Colorado. […]

Carlos Marighella, Writer, and Activist born

*Carlos Marighella was born on this date in 1911. He was an Afro Brazilian politician and writer. Marighella was born in Salvador, Bahia, to Italian immigrant Augusto Marighella and Afro Brazilian Maria Rita do Nascimento. His father was a blue-collar worker originally from Emilia, while his mother was a descendant of African slaves from Sudan (Hausa Blacks). He spent […]

Virginia Lacy Jones, Librarian and Administrator born.

*Virginia Lacy Jones was born on this date in 1912. She was a Black librarian and administrator. Virginia Lacy was born to Edward and Ellen Lacy in Cincinnati, Ohio. She spent much of her childhood in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in a family that was “poor, hardworking, proud, and ambitious.” Books and reading were always a […]

Clara Stanton Jones, Librarian born

*Clara Stanton Jones was born on this date in 1913. She was a Black librarian and administrator. Clara Stanton was born to a close-knit Catholic family in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother, Etta J. Stanton, worked as a schoolteacher. Her father, Ralph Herbert Stanton, was a Standard Life Insurance and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company […]

Beneta Edwards McHie, Librarian and Social Worker born

*Beneta Edwards McHie was born on this date in 1913. She was a Black social worker and librarian. Beneta Amelia Edwards, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Edwards and Lola Dodd Ford Edwards and had one sister, Leatrice Dodd. Her grandparents escaped from Kentucky (Annie Ford) and Texas (Benjamin Edwards) […]

Aimé Césaire, Writer, and Politican born

*Aime Cesaire was born on this date in 1913.  He was an Afro Caribbean, Martinican poet, playwright, and politician.    His mother was a dressmaker in the small town of Basse-Pointe, and his father was the local tax inspector. Cesaire was raised in Martinique with his five siblings. Although their father was well-educated, and they […]