People, Locations, Episodes

Café Society (New York City), Opens

*On this date in 1938, Café Society opened.   This was a New York City nightclub at Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village.   Managed by Jewish white-American Barney Josephson, it was created to showcase Black talent and to be an American version of the political cabarets he had seen in Europe.  Café Society was one of the first racially integrated nightclubs in the United States; Josephson also intended the club to […]

Bertram Lee, Public/Private Policy Administrator born.

*Bertram Lee was born on January 21, 1939. He was a Black public policy administrator and lawyer.  Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Lee was raised in a public housing project. His father, William, was a teacher, and Lee told the New York Times’s William C. Rhoden that while his family was not affluent, neither were they […]

Samuel Christian, Gangster born

*Samuel Christian was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black mobster and the founder of the Philadelphia Black Mafia. Samuel Christian was a former member of the Black Panther Party from Philadelphia, PA. Christian was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list as a suspect in the 1972 murder of Tyrone […]

Max Robinson, TV News Anchor born

Max Robinson was born on this date in 1939. He was an African American journalist and television news correspondent.

Blue Note Records is Formed

*Blue Note Records is celebrated on this date in 1939. They are an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it originated its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small-group swing, […]

The National Newspaper Publishers Association is Founded

*The founding of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) is celebrated on this date in 1940.   The NNPA emerged when John H. Sengstacke, of The Chicago Defender, organized a meeting with other Black news publishers intended for “harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism”. The group decided to form the National Negro Publishers Association. In 1956, the […]

Bernard Shaw, Broadcast Journalist born

*Bernard Shaw was born this date in 1940. He was an African American television journalist.

The Arkansas State Press Newspaper is Published

*On this date in 1941, we celebrate the publication of the Arkansas State Press newspaper.  Founded by Lucious and Daisy Bates, they used their savings to purchase the Black-operated Twin City Press, later renamed Arkansas State Press.  The newspaper, modeled on African American newspapers from the north, helped to promote civil rights activism throughout the […]

The Los Angeles Tribune is published

*On February 13, 1941, the first issue of the Los Angeles Tribune was published.  Almena Lomax, a civil rights activist, published this newspaper between 1941 and 1960, principally for the African American residents of Los Angeles. The paper was known for its “fearless reporting,” including articles about racism in the Los Angeles Police Department. Erna […]

Wellington Webb, Politician, and Administrator born

*Wellington Webb was born on this date in 1941. He is an African American politician and administrator and the first African American Mayor of Denver, CO.

Ed Bradley, Broadcast Journalist born

Ed Bradley, an African American journalist, was born on this date in 1941.

Born in Philadelphia, Bradley grew up in a single-parent household and learned the value of hard work from his mother. Bradley once recalled that his parents worked 20-hour days at two jobs apiece. “I was told, ‘You can be anything you want, kid,'” he once told an interviewer. “When you hear that often enough, you believe it.”

The Fair Employment Practice Committee is Created

*The Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) was created on this date in 1941. Officially termed Executive Order 8802 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, its purpose was: “banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work.”   This was a great advancement for African America, initiated mainly by three people/organizations. Brotherhood […]

Les Payne, Journalist born

*Les Payne was born on this date in 1941.  He was a Black journalist and editor. Leslie Payne was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. According to DNA analysis, he was descended partly from people from Cameroon.  The first member of his family to attend college, Payne graduated from the University […]

George Clinton, Singer, Lyricist, and Bandleader born

*George Clinton was born on this date in 1941.  He is a Black singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. George Edward Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey.  During his teen years, Clinton formed a doo-wop group called The Parliaments while doing hair at a barber salon in […]

Carole Simpson, Media Journalist born

*Carole Simpson was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black media broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author. Carole Estelle Simpson was born in Chicago, Illinois.   At a young age, she became involved in drama in elementary and high school, training her to articulate and project her voice for media. 1958, Simpson […]