People, Locations, Episodes

Margaret Danner, Writer born

Margaret Danner, an African American writer, was born on this date in 1915.

Born in Kentucky, Danner and her parents moved to Chicago when she was young. When Margaret Esse Danner was in the eighth grade, she wrote her first prize-winning poem, “The Violin.” Although it would be many years before her first book of poetry was published, the image and theme of the violin reappeared many times in later works.

Grace Lee Boggs born

*Grace Lee Boggs was born on this date in 1915. She was an Asian American author, radical justice and social activist, philosopher and feminist. Boggs was born in Providence, Rhode Island, above her father’s restaurant. Her Chinese given name was Yu Ping, meaning “Jade Peace.” She was the daughter of Chin Lee, originally from Toishan in China and Yin […]

Margaret Walker, Novelist, and Poet born

On this date in 1915, Margaret Walker was born in Birmingham, AL. She was an African American novelist and poet, one of the leading Black woman writers of the mid-20th century.

The Journal of African American History is published

*On this date in 1916, the Journal of African American History published its first issue.   The Journal of African American History, formerly The Journal of Negro History (1916–2001), is a quarterly academic journal covering African American life and history. It was founded in 1916 by Carter G. Woodson. The journal is owned and overseen by the Association for the […]

John O. Killens, Novelist born

This date marks the birthday of John Oliver Killens, an African American novelist and professor, born in Macon, GA. in 1916.

Killens studied at Terrell Law School, Columbia University, and New York University from 1936 to 1942. After serving in the military, he worked for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., and then moved to Brooklyn. Killen’s first novel, “Youngblood,” was published in 1954 and his second, “And Then We Had Thunder,” in 1963. In between those two novels, he wrote the script for the film “Odds Against Tomorrow.”

Harold Cruse, Author born

*Harold Cruse was born on this date in 1916. He was an African American author and intellectual.

Albert Murray, Writer, and Critic born

On this date, Albert L. Murray was born in 1916. He is an African American essayist and critic whose writings assert the vitality and the powerful influence of Black people in forming American traditions.

He was born in Nokomis, AL. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1939, and his M.A. from New York University in 1948. He also taught at Tuskegee. In 1943, he entered the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired as a major in 1962.

Frank Yerby, Novelist born

This date marks the birth of Frank Yerby in 1916. He was an African American author of popular historical fiction.

Frank Garvin Yerby was born in Augusta, GA. He was the son of an itinerant hotel doorman, Rufus Garvin Yerby and Wilhelmina Smythe Yerby. Young Yerby attended a private school for Black students, the Haines Institute. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Paine College, and a Master of Arts in English from Fisk University in 1938.

William Stetson Kennedy, Author born

*On this date, in 1916, William S. Kennedy was born.  He was a white-American author, folklorist, and human rights activist.   William Stetson Kennedy, commonly known as Stetson Kennedy, was born in Jacksonville, Florida, to Willye Stetson and George Wallace Kennedy.  A descendant of signers of the Declaration of Independence, Kennedy came from a wealthy, aristocratic Southern family with relatives such as John Batterson Stetson, founder of […]

Martha Putney, Historian, and Educator born

*Martha Putney was born on this date in 1916. She was an African American educator and historian.

Dena Epstein, Music Librarian born

*Dena Epstein was born on this date in 1916. She was a white Jewish-American music librarian, author, and musicologist. Dena Julia Polacheck was born in Milwaukee to William Polacheck and Hilda Satt. She studied music at the University of Chicago and library science at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1943. She worked as a […]

Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet, and Author born

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on this date in 1917. A poet, she is the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize.

Henry Nxumalo, Journalist born

*This date in 1917 is celebrated as the birth date of Henry Nxumalo. Also known as Henry “Mr. Drum” Nxumalo, he was a pioneering South African investigative journalist. He was born in Margate, Natal, South Africa, and attended the Fascadale Mission School. Showing early capacity as a writer, he submitted various samples of his work […]

The Messenger Magazine is Published

*In August 1917, the first issue of Messenger magazine was published.  This was an early 20th-century political and literary magazine by and for African American people. It was important to the growth of the Harlem Renaissance and initially promoted a socialist political view. The Messenger was co-founded in New York City by Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph.   Toward the end of 1916, Randolph and Owen dropped out of […]

Samuel W. Allen, Author, Educator, and Lawyer born

*Samuel W. Allen was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black writer, poet, literary scholar, and lawyer. From Columbus, Samuel Washington Allen graduated as valedictorian of Fisk University in 1938 with an AB in sociology, where he studied with James Weldon Johnson. He received a JD from Harvard Law School in 1941. Drafted into the […]