People, Locations, Episodes

Abbie Mitchell, Singer, and Entertainer born

*Abbie Mitchell was born on this date in 1884. She was an African American singer and actress.

From the Lower East Side of New York City, she was the daughter of an African American mother and a German Jewish father, both who were musically talented. After completing her public school training in Baltimore, she began to study voice in New York in 1897. Lyricist, Paul L. Dunbar, and composer Will Marion Cook who cast her in their musical Clorindy, the Origin of the Cakewalk, recognized her talent.

Georgette Harvey, Stage and Screen Actress born

*Georgette Harvey was born on this date in 1884. She was an African American actress.

Grace Nail Johnson, Arts Advocate born

*Grace Nail Johnson was born on this date in 1885.  She was a Black activist and patron of the arts.   Grace Elizabeth Nail was born in New London, Connecticut. She was the second child of real estate developer John Bennett Nail and Mary Frances Robinson.  By the time she was born, the Nails had […]

Flournoy Miller, Vaudeville Playwright born

*Flournoy Miller was born on this date in 1885.  He was a Black entertainer, actor, lyricist, producer, and playwright.   Flournoy Eakin Miller was born in Columbia, Tennessee, the second son of the editor of a Black newspaper; his older brother Irvin C. Miller also became a noted vaudeville performer and theatre producer. He studied […]

Arthur Wilson, Actor, and Entertainer born

*Arthur Wilson was born on this date in 1886.  He was a Black actor, singer, and musician.   Arthur “Dooley” Wilson was born in Tyler, Texas, the youngest of five children. At age seven, the year of his father’s death, he began to make a living by performing in churches in Tyler. When he was eight years old, he made […]

James Van Der Zee, Photographer born

On this date, James Van Der Zee was born in 1886. He was an African American photographer whose portraits of Black New Yorkers chronicled the Harlem Renaissance.

Alice T. Gafford, Nurse, and Artist born

*On this date in 1886, Alice Taylor Gafford was born. She was an African American nurse and artist.

From Los Angeles, she was one of ten children of Benjamin and Alice Armstead Taylor, and the only one who showed an interest in art. She spent twenty-five years in the nursing profession before deciding to pursue her first love, painting. Gafford attended and graduated from the Otis Art Institute, receiving attention from critics when she won second prize for one of her paintings at the Stendahl Gallery on Wilshire Blvd.

Ada Crogman Franklin, Kansas City Administrator born

The birth of Ada Crogman Franklin in 1886 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American instructor and administrator in the performing arts.

Diego Rivera, Artist born

*On this date, in 1886, Diego Rivera was born.  He was a Mexican painter whose artistic intersectionality mentored and influenced many Black artists.  Diego Rivera was born as one of the twin boys in Guanajuato, Mexico, to María del Pilar Barrientos and Diego Rivera Acosta, a well-to-do couple.  His twin brother Carlos died two years after they were born.  They were […]

Clementine Hunter, Folk Artist born

On this date we remember the birth of African American folk artist Clementine Hunter in 1886.

James V. Herring, Artist, and Professor born

*James V. Herring was born on this date in 1887.  He was a Black artist and professor. James Vernon Herring was born in Clio, South Carolina, to a Black mother and a white Jewish father who was an educator and visual artist. To ensure him a good education and protection from white racial violence, his family sent […]

Laura Waring, Artist born

On this date we remember the birth of Laura Wheeler Waring in 1887. She was an African American artist.

Thomas Montgomery Gregory, Dramatist born

Thomas Montgomery Gregory was born on this date in 1887. He was an African American dramatist, educator, social philosopher, and activist.

Roland Hayes, Philharmonic Singer born

Roland Hayes was born on this date in 1887. He was an African American concert singer.

Horace Pippin, Folk Artist born

*This date marks the birth of Horace Pippin in 1888. He was an African American folk painter known for his primitivist depictions of Black life in America and on the horrors of war.