*Lottie Gee was born on this date in 1886. She was a Black dancer and singer who performed in shows and musicals during the Harlem Renaissance. Charlotte O. ‘Lottie’ Gee was born in Millboro, Virginia. Initially a dancer in Aida Overton Walker’s shows, she appeared in The Red Moon in 1904 and later toured the […]
learn more*Ford Dabney was born on March 15, 1883. He was a Black ragtime pianist, composer, songwriter, and band director. Ford Thompson Dabney was from Washington, D.C., and was the son of John Wendell Dabney. He attended the business education division of M Street High School and Dunbar High School) grades nine through eleven. Dabney then […]
learn more*G. Caliman Coxe was born on May 7,1907. He was a Black artist and educator. Gloucester Caliman Coxe was a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and moved to Louisville, KY. in 1924. In his 40s, he entered the University of Louisville to study art. He was the first African American to receive a Hite art scholarship […]
learn more*Elvera “Baby” Sanchez Davis was born on September 1, 1905. She was an Afro Cuban American dancer. Elvera Sanchez was born in New York City to Afro Cuban immigrants Luisa Valentina and Marco Sánchez, a cigar maker. She began her career as a chorus-line dancer at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem in 1921. She became […]
learn more*Will Mastin was born on this date in 1878. He was a Black dancer and singer. According to the 1880 Federal Census of Enumeration and the California Death Index, Mastin was born in Madison, Alabama, to a single mother named Sally Mastin. As a vaudeville and television act, Mastin led the Will Mastin Trio. The […]
learn more*Jerry Pinkney was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black artist, illustrator, writer, and teacher of children’s literature. Jerry Pinkney was born in Philadelphia, PA. His parents were Williemae and James Pinkney; he was the middle child of five siblings. Pinkney struggled in school due to dyslexia but excelled at drawing, even […]
learn more*Samuel Davis Sr., born on this date in 1900, was a Black dancer. Samuel George Davis Sr. was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Rosa B. Taylor and Robert Davis. He and his former wife, Elvera Sanchez, danced in a vaudeville troupe. The couple separated when their son Sammy Jr. was three. Davis took custody […]
learn moreSean Garrison is an artist. In this segment, he shares two areas he feels the African American community should focus more on.
learn more*The Society of Black Composers (SBC) is celebrated on this date in 1968. It was an African American composer collective. The SBC began in New York City. The collective hosted several concerts showcasing the works of Black composers. Members of the Society have made significant contributions to American musical culture, including contemporary jazz, classical music, […]
learn more*Noel Da Costa was born on this date in 1929. He was a Black Nigerian-Jamaican composer, jazz violinist, and choral conductor. Noel G. Da Costa was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to parents from Kingston, Jamaica, who were Salvation Army missionaries. After returning to Jamaica while Da Costa was young, they emigrated to Harlem, New York. […]
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