People, Locations, Episodes

The First Black Play On Broadway debuts

*On this date in 1903, In Dahomey opened, at the New York Theater. This was a landmark American musical comedy and was “the first full-length musical written, produced and performed by Blacks at a major Broadway Theater.

It featured music by Will Marion Cook from the book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The production was produced by McVon Hurtig and Harry Seamon and starred Black actors James Smith and George Sisay and one of the leading comedians in America at that time, Bert Williams.

In Dahomey ran for 53 performances.

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Dick Campbell, Stage Actor, and Theater Advocate born

*Dick Campbell was born on this date in 1903. He was a Black actor, theater advocate, and community activist.   Born Cornelius Coleridge Campbell in Beaumont, Texas. Orphaned at the age of six, he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Pauline Snow. He was a janitor at his local high school before attending Paul Quinn […]

“The Charleston” (Dance Style), a story

The Charleston is celebrated on this date. This is a dance style influenced by African culture and started durinhg Bblack slavery in America.

Buck Washington, Dancer born

Buck Washington was born on this date in 1903. He was an African American dancer, recognized as one of vaudeville’s best-known all-around entertainers and innovators.

Fredi Washington, Actress born

*On this date in 1903, Fredi Washington was born. She was an African American actress, writer, dancer, and singer.

From Savannah, Georgia, Fredericka Carolyn Washington’s education began at St. Elizabeth Convent in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. She then attended the Egri School of Dramatic Writing and the Christopher School of Languages, where her attractions included casting, writing, dancing, singing, and civil rights. Washington’s career began dancing in nightclubs. From 1922 to 1926, she toured with Sissle and Blake’s Shuffle Along.

James Baskett, Actor born.

*On this date we point out the birth of James Baskett in 1904. He was an African American actor.

Pigmeat Markham, Comedian born

On this date we mark the birth of Pigmeat Markham in 1904. He was an African American comedian.

From Durham, North Carolina, Dewey Pigmeat Markham began his long career in 1917, dancing in traveling shows. He traveled the southern ‘race’ circuit with blues singer Bessie Smith and later appeared on burlesque bills with Milton Berle, Red Buttons, and Eddie Cantor. By the 50s, Markham was one of Black America’s most popular entertainers through his shows at the Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, and in particular, New York’s famed Apollo.

Ernestine Jessie Covington Dent, Pianist, Music Educator, and Activist, born.

*Ernestine Jessie Covington Dent was born on May 19, 1904. She was a Black pianist, music educator, and community leader. Ernestine Jessie Covington was born in Houston, Texas, and was the daughter of Benjamin Jesse Covington and Jennie Belle Murphy Covington. Her father was a medical doctor; both of her parents were college graduates and […]

Undine Moore, Composer, and Teacher born

On this date in 1904, Undine Smith Moore was born. She was an African American composer, pianist, choir director, and educator.

Joseph Delaney, Artist born

*Joseph Delaney was born on this date in 1904.  He was a Black artist. Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the tenth child of a Methodist minister. He was the younger brother of Beauford Delaney, with whom he shared an interest in drawing. In his late teens and early 20s, Delaney spent years without a […]

The Pekin Theatre (Chicago) Opens

*The Pekin Theatre was established on this date in 1905.  Located in Chicago, Illinois, it was one of the first Black-owned musical and vaudeville stock theatres in the United States.   Between 1905 and 1911, the Pekin Club and its Pekin Theatre served as a training ground and showcase for Black theatrical talent, vaudeville acts, and musical comedies. Additionally, the theatre […]

Frederick O’Neal, Stage, and Media Arts Advocate born

Frederick Douglass O’Neal was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American stage, film, and TV actor/director who also organized and led theater and arts groups.

Lois M. Jones, Artist, and Educator born

On this date, Lois Mailou Jones, an African American painter and educator, was born in Boston in 1905.

Alonzo J. Aden, Art Historian born.

*Alonzo J. Aden was born on May 6, 1906. He was a Gay Black art historian and gallerist. Alonzo “Lonnie” Aden was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was the oldest son of Ephraim Aden, a hotelier, and Naomi Barnett, a schoolteacher. Aden had blonde hair until early adulthood and green eyes. In 1920, Aden […]

Canada Lee, Actor born

This date marks the birth of Canada Lee (Lionel Cornelius Canegata, his name at birth) in 1907. He was an African American actor and one of the leading Black actors of the 1940s and 1950s.

His film credits include Alfred Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” and Robert Rosen’s “Body and Soul.” He was known for his dignified presence, a rare image for black screen actors of that time.