People, Locations, Episodes

Harolyn Blackwell, Vocalist born

*Harolyn Blackwell was born on this fate in 1955. She is an African American lyric coloratura soprano and educator.

Anton Armstrong, Choral Conductor born

*Anton Armstrong was born on this date in 1956.  He is a Black choral music professor and choral conductor.   Anton Eugene Armstrong was born in New York City to William Benfield Armstrong and Esther Louise Holder William was born in Antigua. Esther was born in New York City to Herbert Henry Holder and Leander Hassell, both from St […]

Chi-Chi Nwanoku, Musican and Professor born.

*Chi-Chi Nwanoku was born on this date in 1956. She is a Black British double bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies. Chinyere Adah “Chi-Chi” Nwanoku was born in Fulham, London, and is of Nigerian and Irish descent. She is the oldest of her parents’ five children, Dr. Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret […]

The African Jazz-Art Society & Studio is formed

*The African Jazz-Art Society & Studio (AJASS) was formed on this date in 1956. It was initially called the Jazz-Art Society and later remained the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios. The organizers were young African American artists, designers, musicians, hairdressers, writers, and jazz enthusiasts. Elombe Brath, Kwame Brathwaite, Robert Gumbs, Afrank Adu, Chris Acemandese Hall, […]

James ‘Chip’ Thomas, Doctor and Artist born

*This date in 1957 is celebrated as the birth date of James “Chip” Thomas, a Black doctor and mural artist. Dr. Thomas graduated from the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College School of Medicine in 1983. He works in TONALEA, AZ, and two other locations and specializes in Family Medicine. Dr. Thomas is […]

Willard Wigan, Micro Artist born

*This date in 1957 is celebrated as the birth date of Willard Wigan, a Black British micro-artist and sculptor.  From Wolverhampton, England, as a child, he had dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome, neither of which was diagnosed until adulthood. Wigan was ridiculed in class by his primary school teachers for not learning to read. Wigan attributes […]

The American Society of African Culture, a story

*On this date in 1957, we celebrate the American Society of African Culture (AMSAC), an organization of African American writers, artists, and scholars. The society was founded in 1956, following the Congress of Negro Writers and Artists, based on the idea of the French Société Africaine de culture. In the summer of 1957, five African […]

Julie Felix, Ballerina, and Teacher born

*Julie Felix’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1958. She is a retired Black British ballerina and teacher. Having grown up in Ealing, west London, in the 60s, Felix knew about racial distinction. She did not often notice any faces that weren’t white in the neighborhood or at college, she says. After her mother […]

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is Founded

*On this date in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT)’s beginning is affirmed. This is a modern dance company based in New York City. Choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey founded it. Ailey was the company’s director, choreographer, and principal dancer. The company started as an ensemble of only seven dancers, plus their choreographer and many guest choreographers. Initially, their […]

Revelations by Alvin Ailey Debuts

*On this date in 1960, Revelations, the best-known work of the modern dance choreographer Alvin Ailey. It is also the signature work of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which premiered an extended version of the work when Ailey was 29 years old. Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer’s Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historically African American experience from […]

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Contemporary Artist born

This date marks the birth in 1950 of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was an African American artist specializing in painting. Initially a street artist, his graffiti-inspired work won international acclaim during the 1980s.

Born to a Haitian father and a first-generation Puerto Rican-American mother, Basquiat grew up in Brooklyn. As a child, he created drawings inspired by comic books and television cartoons. His mother, who often took him to local art museums, nurtured his early interest in art. In May 1968, a car hit Basquiat. He suffered a broken arm and his spleen had to be removed.

Mark Bradford, Artist born

*Mark Bradford was born on this date in 1961. He is a Black gay artist born and raised in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles. Bradford moved with his family to a predominantly white neighborhood in Santa Monica when he was 11, but his mother still maintained her business in the old community. His mother […]

Beverly McIver, Artist born

*Beverly McIver’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1962. She is a Black contemporary artist, mostly known for her self-portraits. McIver was the youngest of three daughters and was raised by a single mother who worked as a maid to support their family. Born and raised in Greensboro, NC, her mother’s attention and resources were […]

Denyce Graves, Mezzo Soprano born

*Denyce Graves was born on this date in 1964. She is a Black Mezzo-Soprano vocalist. She was born in southwest Washington, D.C. Her father left her family when Graves was one year old, and her mother struggled to support the family through most of her childhood. Graves’ early musical education was limited to singing gospel […]

The Harlem School of the Arts is Formed

*The Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) was celebrated on this date in 1964.  Soprano Dorothy Maynor founded the school in the basement of the St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem when the community suffered severe physical blight, high levels of poverty, and few cultural resources for its young people. As it grew, the school […]