People, Locations, Episodes

Jet Magazine is Published

*On this date in 1951, Jet Magazine was published.  This is a weekly magazine marketed to African American readers. John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, founded it. Johnson called his magazine Jet because, as he said in the first issue, “Everything is moving along faster in the world today. There is more news and far less time to read it.” (The phrase “jet black” derives […]

Lita McClinton, Socialite born

*Lita Lavaughn McClinton was born on this date in 1952. She was a Black socialite. The daughter of Emory McClinton, a former U. S. Department of Transportation official, and his wife, JoAnn McClinton, a Georgia state representative. McClinton married white millionaire James Vincent Sullivan. Although McClinton was in love, her parents never liked Sullivan. They […]

Ralph Wiley, Journalist, and Author born

*Ralph Wiley was born on this date in 1952. He was an African American journalist and author.

From Memphis, TN., he was the son of Ralph H. Wiley (a night watchman) and Dorothy Brown (a professor). Though his father died when he was young, Wiley had strong male role models. Both of his grandfathers were Methodist ministers; his three uncles’ were a mortician, a maitre d’hotel, and a prizefighter. Wiley’s mother was also accomplished; she held a master’s degree from Northwestern University and taught at the Baptist Owen College in Memphis.

Phillip Freelon, Architect born

*Philip Freelon was born on this date in 1953. He was a Black architect.   Born and raised in Philadelphia, his family was made up of artists, educators, and inventors, and he, too, developed a lifelong love for the arts and culture. Harlem Renaissance-era painter Allan Randall Freelon, Sr.; his grandfather helped kindle his awareness of the physical […]

William Darity Jr. Social Economist born

*William Darity Jr. was born on this date in 1953. He is a Black social scientist and economist. William A. ‘Sandy’ Darity Jr. was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. His parents were William A. Darity Sr. and Evangeline Royal Darity. He has one sister. Darity Jr. graduated with a bachelor’s degree […]

Raymond Washington, Street Gang Leader born

*Raymond Washington was born on this date in 1953.  He was a Black gangster known as the founder of the Crips Street Gang. Raymond Lee Washington was born in Los Angeles, California, and was the youngest of four sons of Violet Samuel and Reginald Washington. His parents separated when he was two, and his mother and […]

Julianne Malveaux, Economist, and Administrator born

*Julianne Malveaux was born on this date in 1953. She is an African American educator, activist and administrator. Malveaux is from San Francisco.

Darwoud Bey, Photographer born

*The birth of Dawoud Bey is marked on this date in 1953.  He is a Black photographer and educator.  Born David Edward Smikle in New York City’s Jamaica, Queens neighborhood, Smikle attended PS 131 grade school and graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.  He changed his name to Dawoud Bey in the early 1970s, […]

‘Tookie’ Williams, Street Gang Leader born

Stanley “Tookie” Williams was born on this date in 1953. He was an African American gang leader, author, and community organizer.

He was born in Louisiana, and in the early 1960s, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles. His first childhood encounter in his new LA neighborhood led to a fight. This experience, Williams, says convinced him that being bigger, tougher, and stronger than the next guy were the keys to his survival. He and friend Raymond Washington founded the Crips, a gang, or in their own description, a LA youth protection organization.

Christopher Gardner, Stock Broker born

*Christopher Gardner was born on this date in 1954. He is an African American stock broker, businessman and entrepreneur.

Ernest Levert, Engineer born

*Ernest Levert was born on this date in 1954. He is a Black welding engineer and material science engineer. His parents were William and Gertrude Levert. Ernest D. Levert grew up in Cleveland and attended Max S. Hayes High School. As a sophomore, he interned with NASA at the John H. Glenn Research Center. He […]

Juan Williams, Journalist and Writer born

*Juan Williams, born on this date in 1954, is an Afro Panamanian American journalist, author, and political analyst. Juan Antonio Williams was born in Colón, Panama, to Akin Jules Williams and Sharon Williams, both Panamanians. When he was a child, his family moved to America. He graduated in 1972 from Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, […]

Larry Fitzgerald Sr., Journalist born

*Larry Fitzgerald Sr. was born on this date in 1954. He is a Black broadcast journalist specializing in sports and community issues.  Fitzgerald was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, to Robert and Sally Fitzgerald. His parents came north during the Great Migration from Natchez, Mississippi. He graduated from Fenger High School, where he was […]

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Economist born

*Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was born on this date in 1954. She is a Black Nigerian-American economist and international development expert.   Okonjo-Iweala was born in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, Nigeria, where her father, Professor, was the Obi (King) from the Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Ukwu. She was educated at Queen’s School, Enugu, St. Anne’s School, Molete, Ibadan, […]

Debra Lee, Media Administrator born.

*Debra Lee was born on August 8, 1954. She is a Black lawyer and media administrator. Debra L. Lee was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. She attended James B. Dudley High School. In 1976, Lee graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, emphasizing […]