People, Locations, Episodes

The World’s Fair Colored Opera Company Debuts

*On this date in 1892 the first African American performers appeared at Carnegie Hall.

The World’s Fair Colored Opera Company, with featured singer, soprano Matilda Sissieretta Jones, performed less than one year after the hall’s opening.

Dox Thrash, Artist, and Printer born

*Dox Thrash, born on this date in 1893, was an African American artist and printer.

Mabel Ridley, Mezzo-Soprano born

*The birth of Mabel Ridley is celebrated on this date in 1894. She was a Black mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in Broadway theatre and revues in the 1920s and 1930s. Mabel Ridley was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Charles and Katherine Ridley in January 1894. Back in 1843, on their marriage, her grandparents, Ulysses Ridley […]

Mary Dawson, Opera Singer, and Teacher born

*On this date in 1894, Mary Dawson was born. She was an African American musician, administrator, and teacher and the founding director of the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC).

Eva Jessye, Stage Artist born

*Eva Jessye was born on this date in 1895. She was an African American singer, composer, choral director and actress.

She was one of the few musical phenomenons of the twentieth century. Born Eva Alberta Jessye in Coffeyville, Kansas near Oklahoma, her father supported the family as a chicken picker. She was an avid reader who sang as a child, writing her first poem at the age of seven; winning a contest at thirteen. Jessye studied choral music and music theory at the now defunct Western University in Quindaro, Kansas, graduating in 1914.

Florence Mills, Singer, and Dancer born

*On this date in 1896 Florence Mills was born. She was an African American singer, dancer.

From Washington D.C., she was raised in severe poverty. Her parents John and Nellie were illiterate migrants from Lynchburg, Virginia. A young Florence was on stage full-time as a child, first as a “pickaninny” in White vaudeville then as a sister act on the Black popular entertainment circuit.

Marian Anderson, Contralto born

*On this date, Marian Anderson was born in 1897. She was an African American singer, one of the finest contraltos of her time.

Mom’s Mabley, Vaudeville, and Comic Artist born

*This date marks the birthday of Moms Mabley, born in 1897. She was a Black vaudeville performer and comedian, the first Black woman to establish herself as a single act in standup comedy in America.

Jules Bledsoe, Opera Singer born

Jules Bledsoe was born on this date in 1897. He was an African American classical baritone and composer.

Born in Waco, Texas, he was the son of Henry L. and Jessie (Cobb) Bledsoe. He attended Central Texas Academy in Waco from about 1905 until his graduation as class valedictorian in 1914. He then attended Bishop College in Marshall, where he earned a B.A. in 1918. He was a member of the ROTC at Virginia Union University in Richmond in 1918-19, and studied medicine at Columbia University in New York City between 1920 and 1924.

Prentice Polk, Portrait Photographer born

*Prentice Polk was born on this date in 1898.  He was a Black photographer and professor known for his portraits of African Americans.  Prentice Herman Polk was born in Bessemer, Alabama, the fourth child of Jacob Prentice Polk and Christine Romelia Ward. Originally named Herman Polk, he adopted his father’s name after his death and […]

The Whitman Sisters Quartet are Formed

*The Whitman Sisters quartet is celebrated on this date in 1900.  They were four Black sisters who were stage stars of 20th-century Black Vaudeville. The Whitman Sisters ran their performing touring company for over forty years from 1900 to 1943, becoming the longest-running and best-paid act on the Theater Owners Booking Association circuit. The sisters were the daughters of Reverend Albery Allson Whitman and […]

Samuel Davis Sr., Dancer born

*Samuel Davis Sr., born on this date in 1900, was a Black dancer. Samuel George Davis Sr. was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Rosa B. Taylor and Robert Davis. He and his former wife, Elvera Sanchez, danced in a vaudeville troupe. The couple separated when their son Sammy Jr. was three. Davis took custody […]

Selma Burke, Artist born

On this date, Selma Burke born in 1900. She was an African American sculptor from Mooresville, North Carolina.

As a child she liked to whittle and model in clay but her mother insisted she get an education for a “career.” She was educated at Slater Industrial and State Normal School, now Winston-Salem State University; St. Agnes School of Nursing, Raleigh; and Women’s Medical College, Philadelphia.

Richmond Barthe, Sculptor born

*On this date in 1901, Richmond Barthe was born. He was an African American sculptor.

From Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, his father died at 22, when he was only one month old. His mother was very devoted and influenced his aesthetic development significantly. When Barthe was twelve, his work was shown at the county fair in Mississippi and he continued to develop remarkably as an artist. At eighteen, having moved to New Orleans, he won first prize for a sketching he submitted in the Parish (county) competition.

William H. Johnson, Artist born

*On this date we remember the birth of William H. Johnson in 1901. He was a Black artist who worked primarily as a painter.