People, Locations, Episodes

Josie Woods, Choreographer born

*Josie Woods was born on this date in 1912. She was a Black British dancer, choreographer, and activist. Woods was born Josephine Lucy Wood in Canning Town, London, in 1912. Her father, Charles Wood, was from Dominica, and her mother, Emily, had Gypsy ancestry. As a teenager, Woods worked as a seamstress before entering vaudeville. […]

Philip Simmons, Artist born.

*Philip Simmons was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black artisan and blacksmith specializing in the craft of ironwork. Philip Simmons was born in Daniel Island, South Carolina. His grandparents raised him before he was sent to Charleston in 1920 to live with his mother when he was eight. Simmons resided on Vernon Street […]

Etta Baker, Folk Artist born

*Etta Baker was born on this date in 1913. She was an African American singer, composer, and musician one of the last surviving original American folk-blues performers.

Gwendolyn Knight, Sculptor born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Gwendolyn Knight in 1913. She was an African American sculptor.

From Barbados, West Indies, she came to the United States with her family when she was seven. She lived in St. Louis until she was in her early teens, when she moved again with her family to New York. She cannot remember when she first decided to become an artist but recalls completing her first paintings when she was eight or nine years old. Harlem helped raise her. It was a rich time in that part of New York.

‘Buster’ Brown, Tap Dancer born

“Buster” Brown’s birth in 1913 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American Tap dancer and entertainer.

Samuel Felrath Hines Jr., Visual Artist, born

*Samuel Felrath Hines Jr. was born on this date in 1913.  He was a Black visual artist and art conservator.   Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hines began studying art in 1926 after receiving a scholarship for youth classes at the John Herron School of Art Saturday School. After graduating high school in 1931, Hines worked for the Civilian […]

‘Speedy’ Huggins, Dancer, and Musician born

L. C. “Speedy” Huggins, an African American dancer and musician, was born on this date in 1913.

Huggins was born in Ft. Smith, AR. His family later moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where he attended Northeast Junior High School. A self-taught tap dancer, by the time he graduated from the eighth grade in 1928, he was dancing in nightclubs throughout the 18th and Vine district. In 1933, he performed on the opening night of the Cherry Blossom Club, one of the area’s premier nightclubs. Huggins performed throughout Europe while serving in the Army during World War II.

William Artis, Sculptor born

*On this date in 1914 William Ellisworth Artis was born. He was an African American artist.

From Washington, N.C. young Artis moved to New York in 1927. He studied sculpture and pottery at Augusta Savage Studios in the early 1930s and was a part of the Harmon Foundation exhibition in 1933. He received the John Hope Prize, which led to a scholarship at the Art Students League in 1933-34. Artis was hired by Audrey McMahon, the director of the College Art Association, along with several other artists to teach crafts and paint murals in churches and community centers.

Olivette Miller, Jazz Harpist born

*Olivette Miller was born on this date in 1914. She was a Black musician, a swing harpist, and a singer.   Olivette N. Miller was born in New York City, the daughter of actor and writer Flournoy Miller and performer Bessie Oliver Miller. Irvin C. Miller and Quintard Miller, both performers and producers, were her […]

Inge Hardison, Sculptor born

*Inge Hardison was born on this date in 1914. She is an African American sculptor and photographer.

Charles ‘Cookie’ Cook, Tap Dancer born

*Charles ‘Cookie’ Cook was born on this date in 1914. He was a Black tap dancer. Charles Cook was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the dance partner of Ernest “Brownie” Brown, whom he performed from the days of vaudeville into the 1960s. They performed in a 1942 film with Dorothy Dandridge, “Soundie,” Cow Cow Boogie, on […]

Charles Sebree, Artist, and Playwright born

*This date in 1914 is celebrated as the birth date of Charles Sebree. He was a Black artist and playwright best known for his involvement in Chicago’s black arts community of the 1930s and 1940s.  Charles Sebree was born in White City, located in eastern Kentucky. In 1924, his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois, which exposed Sebree […]

Noah Ryder, Choral Conductor, and Educator born

Noah Ryder was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American conductor, singer and educator.

Frankie Manning, Dancer born

*Frankie Manning was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American dancer and choreographer.

From Jacksonville, Florida and raised in New York City, he started dancing in his early teens at a Sunday afternoon dance at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem to the music of Vernon Andrade. From there he moved on to the Renaissance Ballroom, which had an early evening dance for older teens with the live swing music of the Claude Hopkins Orchestra. Finally, Frankie “graduated” to the Savoy Ballroom, which was known for its great dancers and bands.

Dean Dixon, Orchestral Conductor born

This is the day of Dean Dixon’s birth on this date in 1915. He was an African American orchestral conductor.