People, Locations, Episodes

Gerald Barrax, Poet born

Gerald Barrax was born on this date in 1933. He is an African American poet, teacher, and literary editor.

He was born in Attalla, AL, but raised in Pittsburgh. Barrax earned his B.A. in English from Duquesne University and his M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He also worked as editor of Obsidian, a publication that reviews Black Literature and has been considered a major contemporary influence in the world of literary expression and scholarship; he also worked for several other publications.

Calvin L. Hicks, Author born

*Calvin L. Hicks was born on this date in 1933. He was a Black journalist, activist, editor, and music educator. Born in Boston, Hicks wrote for the Boston Chronicle while still in high school. He graduated from Drake University. After writing for the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper, Hicks moved to New York City. In 1960, he founded and chaired the […]

Yusef Iman, Poet, and Singer born

*This date in 1933 marks the birth of Yusef Iman.  He was a Black poet, singer, actor, playwright, and director. Born Joseph Washington Jr., he was one of five children from Savannah, GA.  His journey into adulthood included membership in the Nation of Islam through Malcolm X of Muslim Mosque Inc. and the O.A.A.U. (Organization […]

Audre Lorde, Poet, and Feminist born

*Audre Lorde was born on this date in 1934. She was an African American poet, essayist, and feminist whose works intertwine the personal and the political.

Vivian Liberto Distin, Author and wife of Johnny Cash born.

*Vivian Liberto Distin was born on this date in 1934. She was a Black homemaker and author. She was the first wife of singer Johnny Cash. Vivian Liberto was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and was the daughter of Irene (Robinson) and Thomas Peter Liberto. Her paternal grandparents were from Cefalù, Palermo, Sicily. […]

Wole Soyinka, Playwright, and Novelist born

Wole Soyinka, a talented, ingenious Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, and lecturer, was born on this date in 1934.

Henry Dumas, Writer born

Henry Dumas was born on this date in 1934. He was an African American teacher and writer.

Austin ‘Tom’ Clarke, Novelist born

*Austin “Tom” Clarke was born on this date in 1934. He was a Black novelist, essayist, journalist, and short-story writer. Austin Ardinel Chesterfield “Tom” Clarke was born in St. James, Barbados, where he received his early education in Anglican schools. He taught at a rural school for three years. In 1955, he moved to Canada […]

Sonia Sanchez, Poet, and Professor born

*Sonia Sanchez was born on this date in 1934.She is an African American writer.

Born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama, her mother was Lena Jones Driver and her father was Wilson L. Driver. Her mother died a year after her birth, and Sanchez lived with her paternal grandmother and other relatives for several years. In 1943 Sanchez moved to Harlem, NY with her sister to live with their father and his third wife. She earned a B.A. in political science from Hunter College in 1955. She also did postgraduate work at New York University and studied poetry with Louise Bogan.

Amiri Baraka, Poet, and Playwright born

Amiri Baraka was born on this date in 1934. He is an African American writer, probably best known as a playwright and poet.

Johari Amini, Stage Director, and Teacher born

Johari Amini (her name may also appear as JohariCourts-Amini, JCourts-Amini, JohariC) was born on this date in 1948. She is an African American teacher of theater, director of several outstanding plays, an educator, a writer, and an administrator.

Steve Cannon, Writer born

*Steve Cannon was born on this date in 1935. He was a Black writer and publisher.  Cannon was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and moved to New York City in 1962. During the civil rights era, he was a member of the Society of Umbra, a collective of Black writers.  Cannon taught humanities at Medgar Evers College, helping […]

The Federal Writers Project, a story

On this date we celebrate the Federal Writers Project (FWP). FWP was an extension of the New Deal’s Works Project Administration (WPA) that gave employment between 1935 and 1939 to about 4,500 American writers, 106 of these were African Americans.

Jay Wright, Author and Poet born

*Jay Wright was born on this date in 1935. He is a Black poet, playwright, and essayist. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wright’s mother, Leona Dailey, was of African and Native American ancestry; his father, George Murphy, claimed African, Cherokee, and Irish roots. Murphy held various blue-collar jobs, including construction, driving a jitney, and working as a handyman. […]

Rose Nolan, Writer, and Journalist born

*Rose Nolen was born on this date in 1935. She was an African American author and newspaper journalist.

Born in Windsor, MO. Her parents were Norman and Opal (Willis) Rhodes. She had four sisters, Norma Sowell, Ann Ferguson, June and Jane Rhodes and three brothers, Thomas, Gary and Richard Rhodes. Rose Mary Nolan graduated from the CC Hubbard School, Sedalia in 1952. She started her journalism career in 1983 as a columnist and staff writer for the Pettis County Local Times-News in Sedalia.