People, Locations, Episodes

Ellis Wilson, Artist born

The birth of Ellis Wilson in 1899 is marked on this date. He was an African American artist.

Aaron Douglas, Artist born

On this date we recall the birth of Aaron Douglas in 1899. He was an African American artist closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance.

The Cakewalk, a Black Expression Through Dance

*The Cakewalk is celebrated on this dates Registry. This is a couples dance originated by Blacks in North America around 1900.

Hale Woodruff, Artist born

This date recalls the birth of Hale Woodruff in 1900. He was an African American artist and a true voice of civil rights through his work.

He was born in Cairo, Illinois, but after his father died when he was very young his mother, Augusta, moved the two of them to Nashville, TN. With encouragement from her, Woodruff began to copy newspaper cartoons and images in the family Bible, and at Pearl High School, he was the school’s newspaper cartoonist. After graduation and a brief summer job as a hotel houseboy in Indianapolis, he began art studies at Herron Art Institute.

The Whitman Sisters Quartet are Formed

*The Whitman Sisters quartet is celebrated on this date in 1900.   Four Black sisters were stage stars of 20th-century Black Vaudeville. They ran their performing touring company for over forty years from 1900 to 1943, becoming the longest-running and best-paid act on the T.O.B.A. circuit. The sisters were the daughters of Reverend Albery Allson Whitman and Caddie Whitman (White), who lived in […]

Selma Burke, Artist born

On this date, Selma Burke born in 1900. She was an African American sculptor from Mooresville, North Carolina.

As a child she liked to whittle and model in clay but her mother insisted she get an education for a “career.” She was educated at Slater Industrial and State Normal School, now Winston-Salem State University; St. Agnes School of Nursing, Raleigh; and Women’s Medical College, Philadelphia.

Richmond Barthe, Sculptor born

*On this date in 1901, Richmond Barthe was born. He was an African American sculptor.

From Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, his father died at 22, when he was only one month old. His mother was very devoted and influenced his aesthetic development significantly. When Barthe was twelve, his work was shown at the county fair in Mississippi and he continued to develop remarkably as an artist. At eighteen, having moved to New Orleans, he won first prize for a sketching he submitted in the Parish (county) competition.

William H. Johnson, Artist born

*On this date we remember the birth of William H. Johnson in 1901. He was a Black artist who worked primarily as a painter.

Regina Anderson, Playwright, and Librarian born

This date celebrates the birth of Regina M. Anderson in 1901. She was an African American librarian, playwright, and patron of the arts.

Jester Hairston, Actor born

Jester Hairston was born on this date in 1901. He was an African American choral composer and actor.

The grandson of slaves from the Hairston plantation at Belew’s Creek, North Carolina, Jester Hairston often had to suffer the indignities of Hollywood racism. A cum laude graduate from Tufts Universit with a major in music, he also studied music at the famed Julliard School. He spent 13 years as assistant conductor of the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, where he often arranged and conducted choirs for Broadway.

Adelaide Hall, Stage Entertainer born

On this date in 1901, Adelaide Hall was born. She was an African American entertainer, dancer, and vocalist.

She was born in Brooklyn, where her father taught her to sing. She made her show business debut in a number of black musical shows in New York, including “Shuffle Along,” “Chocolate Kiddies,” “Desires Of 1927,” and “Black Birds of 1928.” The last of these introduced several songs sung by Hall, including “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” Hall went to Paris and was married to a British seaman (Bert Hicks) who opened a club for her called La Grosse Pomme (the Big Apple).

Etta Moten Barnett, Stage Singer born

On this date in 1901, we mark the birth of Etta Moten Barnett. She was an African American vocalist and theater artist.

She was born in Weimar, TX, the daughter of Freeman (a Methodist minister) and Ida Norman Moten. During her senior year at the University of Kansas, Moten was discovered while singing in a recital, and she was invited to join the prestigious Eva Jessy Choir in New York, which she promptly did after graduation. She was married in the 1920s, and divorced six years later.

Juanita Hall, Singer, and Actress born

On this date in 1901, Juanita Hall was born. She was an African American singer and actress.

She was born in Keyport, N.J., educated in the public school system there, and developed her voice while singing in the local Catholic church choir. Hall attended Juilliard School of Music in New York City. When she was still a teenager she married Clement Hall, who died in 1920.

Her first successful performance was as Julie in “Show Boat” in 1928. Hall appeared in “Green Pastures” in 1930 with the Hall Johnson Choir and eventually became the assistant choir director.

Beauford Delaney, Artist born

*On this date in 1901, Beauford Delaney was born. He was an African American artist.

From Knoxville, Tennessee., his brother Joseph was also a painter. His parents named him Beauford for the coastal town Beauford, South Carolina where they had come from. Early in life he showed skill in drawing and he studied at the Massachusetts Normal School, the South Boston School of Art and the Copley Society.. Delaney moved to New York during the Harlem Renaissance gaining a reputation as a pastel portraitist. Some of his works were exhibited at the Whitney Studio Gallery in 1930.

John Bubbles, Tap Dancer born

*On this date in 1902, John Bubbles was born. He was an African American dancer and entertainer; know as “the father of rhythm tap”.

John William Sublett (his name at birth), was from Louisville, Kentucky and grew up in Indianapolis, IN. At the age of eleven he teamed up with Ford Lee Washington in an act billed as Buck and Bubbles. Bubbles sang and danced while Buck played accompaniment. They won a number of amateur competitions performing around the Louisville, Detroit, and New York City areas, sometimes in blackface.