People, Locations, Episodes

The Booker T. Washington Literary Club Begins

*On this date in 1907 we celebrate the origin of the Booker T. Washington Literary Club. Started in Ohio, the first President of the club was Rev. George Washington of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The club was geared to cater to the Afro-Americans students at Ohio University.

The group photo (taken July 27, 1909) is at Minnie Bell’s Annual Reception in Honor of the Summer School. Later the club was called the B.T.W. Literary Society. The club disbanded in 1916.

Marguerite DeMond, Archivist born.

*Marguerite DeMond was born on this date in 1907. She was a Black archivist and curator. Born in Buxton, Iowa, her father was Abraham Lincoln DeMond, and her mother was Lula Irene Watkins. She lived in Macon, Bibb, Georgia, in 1910 and Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, in 1920.  Marguerite Lula DeMond attended Avery Normal Institute. She also […]

Juan Pablo Sojo, Author born.

*Juan Sojo was born on this date in 1907. He was an Afro Venezuelan author and activist. Juan Pablo Sojo was born in the town of Curiepe, Brión Municipality, Miranda State. As a youth, he had his father, Juan Pablo Sojo B, as his primary teacher. His father was a musician and compiler of festivities […]

Hughes Allison, Author born

*The birth of Hughes Allison is celebrated on this date in 1908.  He was a Black author.  Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1919, his family moved north to Newark, New Jersey, where he attended high school and college. Although he initially wanted to become a doctor, Allison found writing to be his true calling […]

Richard Wright, Author born

*Richard Nathaniel Wright was born on this date in 1908. He was an African American writer.

Virginia Brindis de Salas, Afro Latinx Poet born

*Virginia Brindis de Salas was born on this date in 1908.  She was an Afro Latinx poet of the Black community of Uruguay. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, the daughter of José Salas and María Blanca Rodríguez, little is known about her life; according to Joy Elizondo, she claimed to be the niece of Cuban violinist […]

Ann Lane Petry, Novelist born

Ann Lane Petry was born on this date in 1908. She was an African American writer of adult novels and children’s literature who chronicled the urban Black female experience.

Petry was born and raised in Seabrook, Connecticut. The daughter of a pharmacist, she majored in pharmacology at the University of Connecticut. After graduating, she worked at and managed the family drugstore.

Willard Motley, Novelist for Film born

*On this date in 1909, Willard Motley was born. He was an African American novelist who works have been adapted to visual media.

Chester Himes, Writer born

Chester Himes was born on this date in 1909 in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was an African American writer whose novels and autobiographies explore the absurdity of racism.

Govan Mbeki, Activist, and Politician born

*Govan Mbeki was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black South African politician, journalist, Communist, and activist. Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki, who belongs to the Xhosa ethnic group, was born in the Nqamakwe district of the Transkei region. He was the son of Chief Sikelewu Mbeki and Johanna Mahala and the father […]

The Crisis Magazine Is Published

*On this date in 1910, The Crisis magazine was published. This is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, William Stanley Braithwaite, and Mary Dunlop Maclean. The Crisis has been in continuous print since 1910, the oldest black-oriented magazine in […]

William ‘Bill’ Huie, Author born

*On this date in 1910, William “Bill” Huie was born.  He was a white-American journalist and author whose work intersected with the 20th-century American Civil Rights movement.   Born in Hartselle, Alabama, William Bradford Huie was the son of John Bradford and Margaret Lois (Brindley) Huie. And was the eldest of three children. He attended Morgan County High School and graduated as a class valedictorian. He […]

Jackie Ormes, Cartoonist, and Journalist born

The birth of Jackie Ormes in 1917 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American newspaper writer and cartoonist.

Eric Williams, Author, and Politician born

*Eric Williams was born on this date in 1911. He was an Afro Caribbean author, politician, and activist. Eric Eustace Williams was born in Trinidad. His father, Thomas Henry Williams, was a minor civil servant. Eliza Frances Boissiere’s mother was a descendant of the mixed French Creole elite and had African and French ancestry. He attended the Tranquillity […]

William Attaway, Writer born

William Attaway was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American novelist, essayist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and song writer.