People, Locations, Episodes

Norma Morgan, Artist born

 *This date in 1928 is celebrated as the birth date of Norma Morgan, a Black printmaker, artist, and painter. Norma Gloria Morgan was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Her mother raised her after her father’s early death, and she worked as a domestic worker, seamstress, and designer. Morgan showed interest in art from childhood, painting a […]

Jim Hatch, Educator, and Author born

*Jim Hatch was born on this date in 1928.  He was a white-American playwright, educator, collector, and author.   James Vernon Hatch was born in Oelwein, a small city northeast of Des Moines. His father, MacKenzie, was a mason, welder, and boilermaker, and his mother, Eunice, was a homemaker. He earned a bachelor’s degree in […]

Kermit Moore, Cellist and Composer born.

*Kermit Moore was born on this date in 1929.  He was a Black conductor, cellist, and composer. Moore was born in Akron, Ohio. While still in high school, he studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In Manhattan, he studied the cello with Felix Salmond at the Juilliard School while simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree […]

Moses Gunn, Stage, and Screen Actor born

On this date in 1929, Moses Gunn, an African American actor, was born.

He was the eldest of seven children from a St. Louis family that splintered when his mother died. He left home and rode the railroad at just 12 years old. He returned to St. Louis, and attended school while living at the home of Jewel Richie, his English and diction teacher.

The Green Pastures Debuts on Broadway

*On this date in 1930, The Green Pastures debuted on Broadway. This play was written in 1930 by Marc Connelly and adapted from Ol’ Man Adam and His Chillun (1928), a collection of stories by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had the first all-Black Broadway cast. […]

Raymond St. Jacques, Actor born

*Raymond St. Jacques was born on this date in 1930.  He was a Black actor, director, and producer.   St. Jacques was born James Arthur Johnson in Hartford, Connecticut. He had a sister, Barbara Ann. Shortly after his birth, his parents divorced; he moved with his mother and sister to New Haven, Connecticut. Johnson’s mother, […]

Ethel Ayler, Actress born

*Ethel Ayler was born on this date in 1930. She was a Black character actress.   She was born Ethel Spraggins Ayler in Whistler, Alabama, and attended Fisk University, majoring in voice. While there, she learned to sing in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. Ayler moved to Chicago for a singing career and began acting when she won a role in a touring company of Porgy […]

Douglas Turner Ward, Playwright born

*Douglas Turner Ward was born on this date in 1930. He is a Black playwright, actor, director, and theatrical producer.   His birth name was Roosevelt Ward Jr., born in Burnside, Louisiana. His mother was Dorothy Ward (née Short), and his father was Roosevelt Ward, both plantation workers. His great, great-grandmother, Elnora, was owned by […]

Lorraine Hansberry, Playwright, and Activist born

Lorraine Hansberry was born on this date in 1930. She was an African American writer and activist for equal rights for Blacks.

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was born in Chicago, the daughter of Nannie Perry Hansberry and Carl A. Hansberry, both active proponents of civil rights. Hansberry’s father worked with the NAACP and the Urban League to challenge segregation. and he ran for Congress through his His attempt to break down the barriers of racism continued in the political arena when he ran for Congress.

Faith Ringgold, Artist, and Professor born

On this date in 1930, Faith Ringgold was born in New York City. She is an African American artist who has spent her career breaking out of boundaries and clearing spaces for African American creativity, especially that of women.

Whitman Mayo, Actor, and Theater Teacher

Whitman Mayo, an African American actor was born this date in 1930.

Mayo was born in New York City, and moved to Los Angeles where he attended Los Angeles City College and the University of California at Los Angeles. Following college, he spent seven years as a counselor at an institution for delinquent boys. He left counseling and turned to acting while picking up odd jobs, such as picking grapes, working at a dairy, and as a railroad worker. He also spent a year in Mexico playing professional volleyball.

James Earl Jones, Actor born

*James Earl Jones was born on this date in 1931. He is an African American actor.

Ivan Dixon, Actor, and Director born

*Ivan Dixon was born on this date in 1931. He was a Black actor, director, activist, and producer.   Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III was born in Harlem, the son of a grocery store owner. When he was young, Dixon lived at 518 West 150th Street in Harlem, on the same block with Josh White, Ralph […]

Philippa Schuyler, Composer, and Writer born

On this date, Philippa D. Schuyler was born in 1931. She was an African American concert pianist.

Adrienne Kennedy, Playwright born

Adrienne Kennedy, an African American playwright, was born on this date in 1931.