People, Locations, Episodes

Dissent Magazine is Published

*This date, in 1954, celebrates Dissent magazine’s publication. This publication is an American Left intellectual magazine edited by Natasha Lewis and Timothy Shenk. The University of Pennsylvania Press publishes the magazine on behalf of the Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas. A group of New York Intellectuals established the magazine. Walter Goldwater, owner of University […]

Kenneth Frazier, Business Executive born

*Kenneth Frazier was born on this date in 1954. He is a Black business executive. Kenneth Carleton Frazieris from North Philadelphia. His father, Otis, was a janitor, and his mother died when he was twelve years old. He attended Julia R. Masterman School and Northeast High School. After graduating at age 16, he entered Pennsylvania […]

The Nacirema Club Is Formed

*On this date in 1955, we celebrate the Nacirema Club. The Nacirema Club (its name “American” spelled backward) was a Black-owned association located at 3949 Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis. Because of Jim Crow segregation, the Black culture needed its community mainstays and organizations. The Nacirema ran until 1987, with a membership of 600 in […]

The Moulin Rouge of Las Vegas Opens

On this date in 1955, the first integrated American casino, the Moulin Rouge, opened in Las Vegas.

Built by three White men, Louis Rubin, Alf Childs, and Alexander Bisno, who were partners in a construction company, it became the “Apollo of the West Side.” At the end of World War II, President Harry Truman had signed an executive order integrating the armed forces. Yet segregated schools, municipalities, lodging, and entertainment venues were still an accepted way of American life.

Doug Williams, Football, Player, and Administrator born

*Doug Williams was born on this date in 1955. He is a Black football executive, former quarterback, and coach. Douglas Lee Williams was born in Zachary, Louisiana, a town of about 8,000 people near Baton Rouge. Williams attended Grambling State University, where he played under head coach Eddie Robinson. He played on the same team as future NFL […]

The Café Bohemia Opens

*The Café Bohemia is celebrated on this date in 1955. This jazz club was a site of many classic recordings of America’s original traditional music. It was at 15 Barrow Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. Its initial run lasted until 1960 and was revived in October 2019. Jimmy Garofolo, who had owned the room since […]

Gwen Ifill, Journalist and Moderator born

Gwen Ifill was born on this date in 1955. She was an African American journalist.

She was born in Queens, New York City, the daughter of O. Urcille Ifill, Sr., a Methodist preacher, and Eleanor IFill. She has a sister and brother, Maria Ifill Philip and Roberto. In 1977, she graduated from Simmons College in Boston, where she majored in communications. Through an internship, she got her first hands-on experience as a journalist.

Clarence Otis Jr., Businessman born

*The birth of Clarence Otis Jr. on this date in 1956 is marked on this date. He is a Black lawyer and businessman.  When he was six, his family moved from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to the Watts and Compton area of Los Angeles. In his youth, his family took him through Beverly Hills on Sundays. His […]

The Five Spot Café, a story

*The Five Spot Café opened on this date in 1956. The Five Spot Café was a jazz club in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City, between the East and West Village. Its friendly, non-commercial, low-key atmosphere, affordable drinks and food, cutting-edge bebop, and progressive jazz attracted many avant-garde artists and writers. In 1937, Salvatore […]

Dean Baquet, Journalist, and Publisher born

*On this date in 1956, Dean Baquet was born.  He is a Black journalist and newspaper executive.  Dean P. Baquet was born and raised in the Treme neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of well-known New Orleans restaurateur Edward Baquet and a prominent New Orleans Creole family member.   According to colleagues, he prefers to be known as “Creole” instead of African American. […]

Duke (Magazine) is Published

*Duke Magazine was first published on this date in 1957. Duke was a short-lived men’s magazine formed by former employees of the Johnson Publishing Company. It is notable as an early attempt at an upscale adult periodical for African American audiences. It was primarily a black-and-white publication, although the cover and centerfold were color-printed. Like many […]

Russell Simmons, Media Entrepreneur born

*Russell Simmons was born on this date in 1957. He is an African American entrepreneur.

Gate of Horn, Folk Music Club opens

*The Gate of Horn is celebrated on this date in 1957. This was a folk music club located in the basement of the Rice Hotel at 755 N. Dearborn St. on the north side of Chicago, Illinois. Journalists Les Brown and Albert Grossman opened it in 1956. It was where Odetta, Bob Gibson, Ella Jenkins, […]

The ‘West Indian Gazette’ is Published

*The first edition of the West Indian Gazette (WIG) newspaper was published on this date in 1958.  It was founded in Brixton, London, England, by Trinidadian communist and Black nationalist activist Claudia Jones. As displayed on its masthead, the title was subsequently expanded to West Indian Gazette and Afro-Asian Caribbean News. Starting as a monthly, […]

The Ebony Fashion Fair, a story

*The Ebony Fashion Fair is celebrated on this date in 1958. (also known as the Ebony Traveling Fashion Fair) was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co-founder of Johnson Publishing Company. In 1956, John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, was approached by Jessie Dent (the wife of the president of […]