*Allan Freelon Sr. was born on this date in 1895. He was an African American artist(Impressionist), educator and civil rights activist. Allan Randall Freelon Srwas born in Philadelphia to Douglas Freelon and Laura E. (Goodwin) Freelon, a “middle-class family,the oldest of three children. He attended the South Philadelphia High School for Boys, followed by a four-year scholarship to the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art,now […]
learn more*The birth of Joshua Johnson in c.1763 is celebrated on this date. He was a black artist (painter) from the Baltimore areaof African and European ancestry. Joshua Johnson was the son of George Johnson, a white man, and a black slave woman whose name was undocumented. His father purchased his son from his mother’s owner for 25 pounds and promised to […]
learn moreLewis Whitlock, educator, choreographer, producer shares his views on the important unused value of the Arts in education
learn more*Norma Miller was born on this date in 1919. She was an African American lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the “Queen of Swing”. Norma Miller was born in Harlem, New York into mother Alma and father Norman, a soldier, both from Bridgetown, Barbados. She was named after her father, who died from pneumonia a month before her birth. […]
learn moreDancer (retired), instructor, artistic director and arts entrepreneur Toni Pierce-Sands shares dance career advice for youth
learn moreDevon Glover, Spoken Word Artist, Educator and shares two treasured career moments Intersecting Hip Hop in Education.
learn more*Willie Best was born on this date in 1916. sometimes known as Sleep n’ Eat, he was an African American television and film actor. A native of Sunflower, Mississippi, William “Willie” Bestcame to Hollywood, California as a chauffeur for a vacationing white couple. He decided to stay in the region and began his performing career with a traveling show in southern California. He was regularly employed […]
learn moreDaren Hill, artist, visual explorer, art entrepreneur shares his definition of Creative Placemakers
learn more*On this date in 1968, Franklin appeared in the Peanuts cartoon. He was the first African American character used by Charles Shultz the cartoonist creator of Peanuts. In the episode Charlie Brown had lost his beach ball, it was found and returned to him by a boy named Franklin. The episode ended with the two proceeding […]
learn more*Jalal Nuriddin was born on this date in 1944. He was an African American poet and musician. Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin was born Lawrence Padilla in the Fort Greene housing project in Brooklyn, New York. As a youth, Nuriddin ran with a local gang, the Fort Greene Chaplains, they fought a street rivalry with the Bed-Stuy […]
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