*The birth of Germaine Acogny is celebrated on this date in 1944. She is a Black African dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Born in Benin to a Senegalese civil servant, Germaine Acogny was also a descendant of the Yoruba people through her grandmother. When she was 10, the family moved to Dakar, Senegal, where she spent the remainder of her […]
learn more*Mercedes Ellington was born on this date in 1939. She is a Black Dancer and choreographer. Mercedes Ellington was born in New York City to Ruth Silas Batts, trumpet player and conductor Mercer Ellington, son of composer and bandleader Duke Ellington. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Louise Petgrave Silas and Alfred Silas, who enrolled her in dance […]
learn more*Maurice Hines was born on this date in 1943. He was a Black actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He was Gregory Hines’ older brother. Maurice Robert Hines Jr. was born in New York City to a Catholic couple, Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a dancer, musician, and actor. Hines began his career […]
learn moreMatthew Jenkins is a professional photographer. In this segment, he shares his career advice for this profession.
learn more*Matthew Beard Jr. was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black child actor. Beard was born near Los Angeles, California, to Matthew Beard Sr. and Johnnie Mae Beard (née Clay). His father was the founding pastor of the Beloved Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. Beard previously played baby parts […]
learn more*Allen Hoskins was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black child actor and rehabilitation counselor. Allen Clayton Hoskins was born in Boston, but his parents, Clayton H. Hoskins and Florence A. Fortier Hoskins, moved the family to Los Angeles, and in 1922, his acting career began. His younger sister Jannie also appeared […]
learn more*Andre Braugher was born on this date in 1962. He was a Black actor. Andre Keith Braugher was born in Chicago, the youngest of four children born to Sally, a postal worker, and Floyd Braugher, a heavy equipment operator. He lived in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago’s West Side. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep […]
learn more*LeRoy Foster was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black Gay painting artist. Foster was born in Detroit and lived there his entire life, except for a brief time when he studied Art in Europe in the 1940s. Foster began drawing at age five or six and was an exceptional art student, recognized by teachers […]
learn more*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 being sent to Charleston in 1920 to live with his mother when he was 8. Simmons resided on Vernon Street and […]
learn more*Radcliffe Bailey was born on this date in 1968. He was a Black contemporary visual artist noted for mixed-media, painting, and sculpture works. Radcliffe Bailey was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey. At age four, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia. His interest in Art began with childhood visits to the High Museum of Art and drawing classes Bailey […]
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