People, Locations, Episodes

Bruce Wright, Judge, and Writer born

This date marks the birth of Bruce M. Wright in 1917. He was an African American judge, lawyer, and poet.

He was born in Princeton, N.J., and raised in Harlem, New York. Bruce McMarion Wright’s father was Black and his mother was white. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Princeton in 1939, but denied admission when the university learned that he was Black. Wright was denied admission to Notre Dame on the same grounds.

The Brownies’ Book is Published

*The Brownies’ Book publication is celebrated on this date in 1919. This was the first magazine published for African American children and youth in the United States. Three people created the magazine. Its editor was W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and its business manager was Augustus Granville Dill. The magazine’s […]

Theodore Allen, Writer, and Activist born

*Theodore “Ted” Allen was born on this date in 1919. He was a white American intellectual, writer, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering writings regarding the white race.

Louise Bennett, Jamaican Poet born

Louise Bennett was born on this date in 1919. She was a Jamaican poet.

Louise was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where she remained affectionately known as “Miss Lou,” and where she remains a household name, a “Living Legend,” and a cultural icon. She received her education from Ebenezer and Calabar Elementary Schools, St. Simon’s College, Excelsior College, and Friends College (Highgate). Although she lived in Toronto, Canada, for years, she still received the homage of the expatriate West Indian community in the north as well as a large Canadian following.

Langston Hughes, Writer born

*Langston Hughes was born on this date in 1902. He was an African American writer

John Howard Griffin, Writer born

On this date in 1920, John Griffin, a White American writer and musicologist, was born. He is probably most famous for assuming the identity of a Black man in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, touring six segregated states, and writing a book about it.

Amos Tutuola, African Writer born

*Amos Tutuola was born on this date in 1920.  He was a Black Nigerian writer.   Amos Tutuola was born Olatubosun Odegbami in Wasinmi, a village just a few miles outside Abeokuta, Nigeria.  His parents, Charles Tutuola Odegbami and Esther Aina Odegbami were Yoruba Christian cocoa farmers.  He was the youngest son of his father, […]

Anatole Broyard , Writer and Literary Critic born

*Anatole Broyard was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black writer and literary critic.  Anatole Paul Broyard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, into a Black Creole family established as free people of color before the American Civil War. The first Broyard recorded in Louisiana was a French colonist in the mid-eighteenth century.  He was the son of Paul […]

Karel Shook, Ballet Master born

*Karel Shook was born on this date in 1920.  He was a white-American ballet master, choreographer, stage administrator, and writer. Karel Shook was born in Renton, Washington, as a child actor in the Seattle Repertory Theatre. He was awarded a scholarship to the Cornish College of the Arts at the age of 13; there, he was encouraged by founder Nellie Cornish to study ballet. […]

James Emanuel, Poet, and Educator born

James Emanuel, an African American poet, was born on this date in 1921.

Alex Haley, Author born

*Alex Haley was born on this date in 1921. He was an African American author, whose books helped popularize the study of Black history and genealogy.

Todd Matshikiza, South African Pianist born

*The birth of Todd Matshikiza is celebrated on this date in 1921. He was a Black South African jazz pianist, composer, and journalist. From Johannesburg, SA., Todd Tozama Matshikiza came from a musical family. He graduated from St Peter’s College in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, and obtained a diploma in music and a teaching diploma. He then […]

The ’S Street Salon,’ a story

*This date in 1922 celebrates the ’S Street Salon.’ This home was a gathering of writers and one of the most understudied communities of the 20th-century ‘New Negro’ authors. The house at 1461 S Street NW became known as a satellite for writers in the nation’s segregated capital. It was considered one of the great […]

Rosa Guy, Author, and Playwright born

*Rosa Guy was born on this date in 1922. She was a Black playwright and writer. Rosa Cuthbert was born in Diego Martin, Trinidad. She and her younger sister Ameze were left with relatives when their parents, Audrey and Henry Cuthbert, emigrated to the United States in 1927. The children did not join their parents in […]

Naomi Madgett, Poet, and Publisher born

Naomi Long Madgett was born on this date in 1923. She is an African American teacher, writer, poet, and editor.