People, Locations, Episodes

Thomasina Petrus, Singer, and Actress born

Thomasina Petrus was born on this date in 1970. She is an African American actress, singer, dancer, and entrepreneur.

Petrus’s parents’ family was from the South, from Charleston, MS. Her grandmother brought up her father and his five siblings. They picked cotton and had little schooling before he came up North to Minneapolis, MN, where Thomasina was born. Her father Hugh joined the military when her mother, Patricia, was pregnant with Petrus’s sister Jean who is a year older (she has another sister Joyi).

Maya Rudolph, Actress, and Singer born

*Maya Rudolph was born on this date in 1972.  She is a Black actress, comedian, and singer.   Maya Khabira Rudolph was born in Gainesville, Florida, to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton and composer Richard Rudolph. Her mother was black, and her father was white-Ashkenazi Jewish. Her paternal grandfather was Sidney Rudolph, a philanthropist who once owned all […]

Savion Glover, Dancer, Choreographer, and Actor born

Savion Glover was born on this date in 1973. He is an African American actor, tap dancer, and choreographer.

Glover was born in Newark, N.J., where as a young child he displayed an enthusiasm for rhythms and at age four he began taking drumming lessons. At age seven he began taking tap lessons and quickly developed a passion for rhythm tap, a form that uses all parts of the foot to create sound. Glover is a graduate of the Newark Arts High School.

George Osodiis, Photographer born

*The birth of George Osodiis is celebrated on this date in 1974.  He is a Black African photographer.  George Osodi is from Lagos, Nigeria, and works there. He studied Business Administration at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos before working as a photojournalist for the Comet Newspaper in Lagos from 1999- 2001. He joined the Associated […]

Opera Ebony is Founded

*Opera Ebony’s founding is celebrated on this date in 1974.  Opera Ebony is an African American opera company that has performed in various programs and venues. Benjamin Matthews, Sister M. Elise Sisson, SBS, and Wayne Sanders founded Opera Ebony In New York City. Opera Ebony has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy […]

Aïda Muluneh, Photographer born.

*The birth of Aïda Muluneh is celebrated on this date in 1974. She is a Black African photographer and contemporary visual artist. Muluneh was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She spent her childhood in Cyprus, Greece, the U.K., and Yemen before settling in Canada in 1985. As a teenager, Muluneh attended Western Canada High School in […]

The Mixed Blood Theater (Minneapolis) Opens

On this date in 1976, the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis held its first stage performance.

Mixed Blood Theatre Company is a multi-racial theater promoting cultural pluralism and individual equality through artistic excellence. Through productions for artistry, entertainment, education, and social change, Mixed Blood addresses artificial obstacles that keep people from succeeding in American society. Since its founding, Mixed Blood has performed plays ranging from intimate chamber theater to irreverent political satires to technical extravaganzas.

Penumbra Theater, St. Paul is Formed

Penumbra Theatre Company opened with its first productions on this date in 1976. It was founded by artistic director Lou Bellamy to create a forum for African American voices in the St. Paul-Minneapolis theater community. From the beginning, it has been committed to providing realistic, inspirational works that inform and redefine the consciousness of its audience.

Chadwick Boseman, Actor born

*Chadwick Boseman was born on this date in 1976.  He was a Black actor and director.   Chadwick Aaron Boseman was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina, to Carolyn and Leroy Boseman. His DNA testing indicates that his ancestors were Krio people from Sierra Leone, Yoruba people from Nigeria, and Limba people from Sierra […]

The Junior Black Academy of Arts, and Letters Begins

On this date in 1977, the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Inc. (JBAAL) was created.

It was formed by Curtis King with C. Eric Lincoln, John O. Killens, Margaret Walker Alexander, Frederick O’Neal, Jean Hutson, Romare Bearden, and Doris Saunders. Its home base was Dallas, Texas. The formation of JBAAL directly involves young and aspiring artists and scholars.

Jomandi Productions Debuts

The founding of Jomandi Productions, an African American Theatre Company in Atlanta in 1978 is celebrated on this date.

Jomandi was launched through an endowment of the Dr. Thomas W. Jones Memorial Scholarship of the Morehouse College Medical School. “Every Father’s Child,” the company’s first production written by Thomas W. Jones II, was part of that tribute. The name Jomandi is a combination of the names of the Jones family members. Fittingly, in a Senegalese dialect the name means, “People gathered together in celebration.”

The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players are formed.

*The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players is celebrated on this date in 1979. The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players was founded and established by actress Gertrude Jeannette, a Broadway and film production veteran. Part of the Harlem Artist Development League, Especially for You, presents three major Equity Showcase plays annually. Their purpose is to present professional theatrical productions and provide theater artists, […]

The Theatrical Performance ‘A Soldier’s Play’ Debuts

On this date in 1981, Charles Fuller’s “Soldier’s Play” premiered in NYC. The play is murder mystery or “courtroom” drama which involves the search for the murderer of Sgt. Vernon Waters, chillingly played by Adolph Caesar on stage and in the film.

Misty Copland, Ballerina born

*Misty Copeland was born on this date in 1982. She is an African American author, entertainer, and American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre. She is the third African American soloist and first in two decades with ABT, where she has endured the cultural pressure associated with this role.

The Gospel at Colonus Premiers

*On this date in 1983, the Gospel at Colonus premiered.  This production is an African American musical version of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus.   It premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival in December 1983. The following year it received a production at the Arena Stage in Washington DC, running from November 23, 1984 […]