People, Locations, Episodes

Chris Rock, Comedian and Actor born

*On this date in 1966, Chris Rock was born. He is an African America comedian, author, recording artist, actor, and talk show host.

The First Black Wins Emmy Award for Best Actor

On this date in 1966, Bill Cosby received an Emmy Award for best actor in a television series.

Cosby won because of his role as an undercover agent disguised as a trainer/companion to an international tennis player in the show “I Spy.”

Halle Berry, Actress and Film Producer born

*Halle Berry was born on this date in 1966. She is an African American actress and model.

R. Kelly, Singer, and Producer born

*R. Kelly was born on this date in 1967.  He is a Black singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist.   Robert Sylvester Kelly was born at Chicago Lying-in Hospital in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.  He is the third of four children with an older sister and brother and a younger brother. His mother, Joanne […]

Lisa Bonet, Actress, and Model born

On this date in 1967, Lisa Bonet was born. She is an African American actress and model.

Lisa Bonet was born to a Jewish mother and a Black father in San Francisco. Bonet’s parents divorced when she was young, and her formative years were spent mostly in New York City and L.A. At age 11, she started auditioning for commercials, and after several years of ads and walk-on TV parts, she landed a coveted role in NBC’s “The Cosby Show.” The show was an immediate hit, and Bonet quickly asserted herself as one of the most memorable kids in the Huxtable clan, the outspoken teenager, Denise.

Cuba Gooding, Jr., Actor born

On this date in 1968, Cuba Gooding, Jr., was born. He is an African American actor.

He was born in the South Bronx, N.Y., the son two singers. Cuba Gooding, Sr., was the lead singer for The Main Ingredient and his mother, Shirley Gooding, a former backup singer with Jackie Wilson’s touring act, the Sweethearts, in the 1960s. His younger brother, Omar, s an actor.

Gooding, Jr., began as acting in a high school performance of Lil Abner. His professional beginnings of his extensive career on the small and large screen began in 1986, with a guest appearance in “Amen.”

Blackside Productions is Founded

*On this date in 1968, we celebrated the founding of Blackside Productions. Now called Blackside, Inc., it was founded by the late Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Henry Hampton. It is a production company dedicated to raising our consciousness about America’s social progress and history. The films that have resulted from this quest have set a higher […]

John Singleton, Film Director, born

 *John Singleton was born on this date in 1968.  He was a Black Film director.   John Daniel Singleton was born in Los Angeles, the son of Sheila Ward-Johnson, a pharmaceutical company sales executive, and Danny Singleton, a real estate agent, mortgage broker, and financial planner.  He attended Blair High School, Pasadena City College, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He graduated […]

Will Smith, Actor, and Entertainer born

Will Smith, an African American actor and entertainer, was born on this date 1968.

Smith was born in West Philadelphia, to mother Caroline, who was an administrator for the school board, and Willard Smith, Sr., who was an engineer and owner of a refrigeration company. Smith has one brother and two sisters, twins Harry and Elle and sister Pam.

The Temptations Show Airs on TV.

*The Temptations Show, a one-hour syndicated television special starring the Motown singing group The Temptations, aired on this date in 1969.  Produced by Motown Productions, it guest-starred George Kirby and Kaye Stevens.   Among the featured musical numbers were Temptations singles such as “Get Ready,” “Cloud Nine,” and “Run Away Child, Running Wild,” pop standards such […]

Putney Swope (Film) is Released

*On this date in 1969, the film Putney Swope was released. It was a satirical comedy about the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, and the nature of corporate corruption. The film was written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starred Arnold Johnson as the title character, a Black advertising executive. Plot: Putney […]

Tyler Perry, Film Producer born.

*Tyler Perry was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black actor, filmmaker, and playwright. Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Willie Maxine Perry (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry Sr., a carpenter. He has three siblings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where […]

Jay-Z, Rapper, Producer, and Businessman born

*Jay-Z was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black rapper, songwriter, record executive, businessman, and record producer. Born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York, he was raised in Marcy Houses in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. After their father, Adnis Reeves, abandoned the family, Jay-Z and his three siblings were raised by their […]

Queen Latifah, Entertainer born

*Queen Latifah was born on this date in 1970. From East Orange, New Jersey, the Black rapper, singer, actor and talk show host. Her birth name is Dana Owens.

Mariah Carey, Singer, and Songwriter born

*Mariah Carey was born on this date in 1970. She is an African American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional actress.

Carey was born in Huntington, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer and Irish-American, and Alfred Roy Carey (Nunez), an Afro-Venezuelan aeronautical engineer. Her siblings include her older sister Alison, and her older brother Morgan. She was named after the song “And They Call the Wind Maria”.