People, Locations, Episodes

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.

William Grant Still, Symphonic Composer born

On this date in 1895, William Grant Still was born. He was an African American musician and composer.

William J. Rapp, Playwright born

*William Rapp was born on this date in 1895. He was a white-American playwright, author, and news writer.    Born in NYC, William Jourdan Rapp was the son of a cigar manufacturer and merchant. He graduated from Cornell, Class of 1917, and volunteered for Army service. Rapp served in France and remained in Europe until 1924. […]

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.

Evelyn Preer, Singer, and Actress born

Evelyn Preer was born on this date in 1896. She was an African American actress and singer.

She was the oldest of three children born to Frank and Blanche Jarvis in Vicksburg, MS. When her father died, she and her mother migrated to Chicago where she completed grammar and high school. Vaudeville provided her early training as a performer as well as “street preaching” for her Apostolic mother who was trying to help raise funds to build an Apostolic Church for Blacks.

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 […]

Ellis Wilson, Artist born

The birth of Ellis Wilson in 1899 is marked on this date. He was an African American artist.

Aaron Douglas, Artist born

On this date we recall the birth of Aaron Douglas in 1899. He was an African American artist closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance.

The Cakewalk, a Black Expression Through Dance

*The Cakewalk is celebrated on this dates Registry. This is a couples dance originated by Blacks in North America around 1900.

Hale Woodruff, Artist born

This date recalls the birth of Hale Woodruff in 1900. He was an African American artist and a true voice of civil rights through his work.

He was born in Cairo, Illinois, but after his father died when he was very young his mother, Augusta, moved the two of them to Nashville, TN. With encouragement from her, Woodruff began to copy newspaper cartoons and images in the family Bible, and at Pearl High School, he was the school’s newspaper cartoonist. After graduation and a brief summer job as a hotel houseboy in Indianapolis, he began art studies at Herron Art Institute.

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 […]