*Ytasha L. Womack’s birth is celebrated on January 22, 1965. She is a Black writer, filmmaker, and cultural critic. Womack was born and raised in Chicago. After graduating from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Womack attended Clark Atlanta University, where she received a bachelor’s in mass media arts. Womack continued her education at Columbia […]
learn more*Souleymane Cissé was born on this date in 1940. He was a Black African film director. Born in Bamako, Mali, Souleymane Cissé was a passionate cinephile from childhood. He attended secondary school in Dakar and returned to Mali in 1960 after national independence. His film career began as an assistant projectionist for a documentary on […]
learn more*WDIA radio went on the air on this date in 1947. WDIA (1070 AM) is a Black radio station in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since World War II, it soon became the first radio station in the United States programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured Black radio personalities; its success in building an audience quickly […]
learn more*Roger Guenveur Smith was born on this date in 1955. He is a Black actor, director, and writer. Roger Guenveur Smith was born in Berkeley, California, and was the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge. He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles and graduated from Occidental College (American Studies) […]
learn moreJames Curry is a video, film, and multi-media producer. In this segment, he shares a few reasons he would encourage any young person to pursue this career.
learn more*Carlton Moss was born on this date in 1909. He was a Black screenwriter, actor, and film director. From Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of Frederick Douglas and Sarah Vincent Moss. Moss grew up in both North Carolina and Newark. He attended Morgan State University, where he formed an acting troupe called “Toward […]
learn more*The release of the film The Negro Soldier is celebrated on this date in 1944. The United States Army created this documentary film and used the film as propaganda to convince Black Americans to enlist in the Army and fight in the war. During World War II, while the U.S. Army was officially racially segregated, […]
learn more*Rita Obama was born on this date in 1960. She is a Black Kenyan-British community activist, sociologist, journalist, and author. Rita Auma Obama is from Nairobi, Kenya, and is the daughter of Barack Obama Sr. and his first wife, Kezia Obama (née Aoko). She is Barack Obama’s older half-sister. After attending a local elementary school […]
learn more*Earl Cameron was born on this date in 1917. He was an Afro Caribbean Black British actor. Earlston Jewett Cameron was born in Pembroke, Bermuda, and grew up on Princess Street, Hamilton, UK. His father was a stonemason who died in 1922, after which Cameron’s mother took on various jobs to support the family. As […]
learn more*Tyler Perry was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black actor, filmmaker, and playwright. Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Willie Maxine Perry (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry Sr., a carpenter. He has three siblings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where […]
learn more