People, Locations, Episodes

Cuba Gooding, Jr., Actor born

On this date in 1968, Cuba Gooding, Jr., was born. He is an African American actor.

He was born in the South Bronx, N.Y., the son two singers. Cuba Gooding, Sr., was the lead singer for The Main Ingredient and his mother, Shirley Gooding, a former backup singer with Jackie Wilson’s touring act, the Sweethearts, in the 1960s. His younger brother, Omar, s an actor.

Gooding, Jr., began as acting in a high school performance of Lil Abner. His professional beginnings of his extensive career on the small and large screen began in 1986, with a guest appearance in “Amen.”

Blackside Productions is Founded

*On this date in 1968, we celebrated the founding of Blackside Productions. Now called Blackside, Inc., it was founded by the late Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Henry Hampton. It is a production company dedicated to raising our consciousness about America’s social progress and history. The films that have resulted from this quest have set a higher […]

John Singleton, Film Director, born

 *John Singleton was born on this date in 1968.  He was a Black Film director.   John Daniel Singleton was born in Los Angeles, the son of Sheila Ward-Johnson, a pharmaceutical company sales executive, and Danny Singleton, a real estate agent, mortgage broker, and financial planner.  He attended Blair High School, Pasadena City College, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He graduated […]

Will Smith, Actor, and Entertainer born

Will Smith, an African American actor and entertainer, was born on this date 1968.

Smith was born in West Philadelphia, to mother Caroline, who was an administrator for the school board, and Willard Smith, Sr., who was an engineer and owner of a refrigeration company. Smith has one brother and two sisters, twins Harry and Elle and sister Pam.

The Temptations Show Airs on TV.

*The Temptations Show, a one-hour syndicated television special starring the Motown singing group The Temptations, aired on this date in 1969.  Produced by Motown Productions, it guest-starred George Kirby and Kaye Stevens.   Among the featured musical numbers were Temptations singles such as “Get Ready,” “Cloud Nine,” and “Run Away Child, Running Wild,” pop standards such […]

Putney Swope (Film) is Released

*On this date in 1969, the film Putney Swope was released. It was a satirical comedy about the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, and the nature of corporate corruption. The film was written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starred Arnold Johnson as the title character, a Black advertising executive. Plot: Putney […]

Tyler Perry, Film Producer born.

*Tyler Perry was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black actor, filmmaker, and playwright. Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Willie Maxine Perry (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry Sr., a carpenter. He has three siblings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where […]

Jay-Z, Rapper, Producer, and Businessman born

*Jay-Z was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black rapper, songwriter, record executive, businessman, and record producer. Born Shawn Corey Carter in Brooklyn, New York, he was raised in Marcy Houses in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. After their father, Adnis Reeves, abandoned the family, Jay-Z and his three siblings were raised by their […]

Queen Latifah, Entertainer born

*Queen Latifah was born on this date in 1970. From East Orange, New Jersey, the Black rapper, singer, actor and talk show host. Her birth name is Dana Owens.

Mariah Carey, Singer, and Songwriter born

*Mariah Carey was born on this date in 1970. She is an African American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional actress.

Carey was born in Huntington, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer and Irish-American, and Alfred Roy Carey (Nunez), an Afro-Venezuelan aeronautical engineer. Her siblings include her older sister Alison, and her older brother Morgan. She was named after the song “And They Call the Wind Maria”.

RAP, (Music, Business, Culture, and Heritage), a story

On this date we explore Rap music. RAP is urban music that grew out of the hip-hop movement of the South Bronx, New York, in the 1970s. It blends rhythmic instrumental tracks created by a disc jockey, with the spoken, rhyming lyrics of an MC, (Rapper).

Sue Jorge, Musician, and Actor born

*Sue Jorge was born on this date in 1970. He is an Afro Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor. Jorge Mário da Silva (his birth name) was the firstborn of four children in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro. According to a DNA test, Seu Jorge is 85.1% African, 12.9% European, and 2% Amerindian. He belongs to haplogroup […]

Touré, Media Journalist, and Writer

*Touré was born on this date in 1971. He is a Black author, journalist, cultural critic, and television personality. From Boston, MA., Touré Neblett’s father, Roy E. Neblett, was an accountant and a member of the personal staff of Boston mayor Kevin White. Touré’s parents met while Roy was studying at Suffolk University Law School, […]

Blaxploitation in American Media, a story

*Blaxploitation in media (video/film) is affirmed on this date in 1971. Often called blacksploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The films, while popular, endured backlash for disproportionate numbers of stereotypical film characters showing bad or questionable motives, including most roles as criminals resisting arrest. However, the genre ranks first […]

Tupac Shakur, RAP Artist born

Tupac Shakur was born on this date in 1971. He was an African American RAP artist.