*Cornelius Battey was born on this date in 1873. He was a Black photographer who shot photographic portraits of African America in a Pictorialist style. Cornelius Marion Battey was born in Augusta, Georgia, but was raised in the North. His first job in photography was in a studio in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to Manhattan, […]
learn more*Arthur P. Bedou was born on this date in 1882. He was a Black photographer based in New Orleans. Arthur Paul Bedou was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of five children of Armand Bedou and Marie Celeste Coustaut. His family was poor, and he received very little education; as a photographer, he was largely […]
learn more*The birth of Francisca da Silva de Oliveira is celebrated on this date in c. 1732. She was an Afro Brazilian socialite who became eminent for becoming rich and powerful despite having been born into slavery. Francisca was the daughter of a Portuguese man, Antônio Caetano de Sá, and an enslaved African woman, Maria da Costa from […]
learn more*Prentice Polk was born on this date in 1898. He was a Black photographer and professor known for his portraits of African America. Prentice Herman Polk was born in Bessemer, Alabama, one of four children of Jacob Prentice Polk and Christine Romelia Ward. Originally named Herman Polk, he adopted his father’s given name after his death […]
learn more*The birth of Clarence Otis Jr.on this date in 1956 is marked on this date. He is a Black lawyer and businessman. From Vicksburg, Mississippi, his family moved to the Watts and Compton area of Los Angeles when he was 6 years old. In his youth, his family took through Beverly Hills on Sundays. His […]
learn more*Albert I. Cassell was born on this date in 1895. He was a prominent mid-twentieth-century Black architect. Albert Irvin Cassell was born in Towson, Maryland, the third child of Albert Truman Cassell and Charlotte Cassell. His father Albert T. Cassell was a coal truck driver, and his mother Charlotte Cassell aka “Lottie” was a laundress. […]
learn more*William S. Pittman was born on this date in 1875. He was a Black architect. William Sidney Pittman was born in Montgomery, Alabama to an ex-slave laundress and a prominent white man of the city. At the age of 17, Pittman attended Tuskegee Institute, where he completed programs in woodwork and architectural-mechanical drawing in 1897. He […]
learn more*Charles Russell was born on this date in 1873. He was a Black architect. A Richmond native, Charles Thaddeus Russell graduated from the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, in 1899 with a certificate from the carpentry department and a diploma from the academic department. Two years later, he went on to serve as supervisor of […]
learn more*George William Cook was born on this date in 1855. He was a Black educator, administrator and activist. Born a slave in Winchester, Virginia, he was one of 8 children of Eliza and Peyton Cook. His family moved to Harrisburg, PA where he worked in the home of a Dr. Mooma. It was there […]
learn more*The Sunset Café is celebrated on this date in 1921. Also known as The Grand Terrace Café the Sunset Café was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America. Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the […]
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