On this date we celebrate the beginning of Clarence Fountain and The Blind Boys of Alabama in 1931. They are a gospel singing group who’ve been singing God’s music for over 60 years.
learn more*Della Reese was born this date in 1931. She is an African American actress, singer, television star and ordained minister.
learn more*Wendell P. Whalum was born on this date in 1931. He was an African American gospel musician, educator and minister.
learn moreDesmond Tutu was born on this date in 1931. He is a Black South African priest and activist.
Born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, Desmond Mpilo Tutu and his family moved to Johannesburg when he was 12 years old. Although he wanted to become a physician, his family could not afford the cost and he followed his father’s footsteps into teaching. In 1951, Tutu studied at the Pretoria Bantu Normal College and went on to teach at Johannesburg Bantu High School, where he remained until 1957.
learn more*New Bethel Baptist Church was founded on this date in 1932. They are one of the oldest black churches in Detroit, Michigan. In its early years, V. L. Bolton was the first pastor, followed by Horatius “H.H.” Coleman, N. H. Armstrong, and William E. Ramsey. In May 1946, Rev. C. L. Franklin became the pastor. When Rev. Franklin […]
learn more*Roosevelt Grier was born on this date in 1932. He is a Black actor, singer, minister, and former professional football player. Born in Cuthbert, Georgia, as one of twelve children, Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He played high school football at Abraham Clark High School in Roselle, New Jersey, graduating in 1951. […]
learn moreJames Cleveland was born on this date in 1932. He was an African American minister, composer, and gospel vocalist.
Born in Chicago, Cleveland’s life calling began at that city’s Pilgrim Baptist Church. Mahalia Jackson lived on Cleveland’s paper route and influenced his career. In 1953, he joined a gospel group called the Caravans as pianist, arranger, and occasional singer. They had two successful recordings, “The Solid Rock” and “Old Time Religion.” Between 1956 and 1960, Cleveland wrote an average of three songs a week.
learn more*Walter Fauntroy was born on this date in 1933. He is a Black politician, pastor, and civil rights, activist. The fourth of seven children, Walter Edward Fauntroy, was born and raised in Washington, D.C. His mother, Ethel (Vines) Fauntroy, was a homemaker. His father, William Thomas Fauntroy, Sr., was a clerk in the U.S. Patent […]
learn moreOn this date in 1933, Louis Farrakhan was born. He is an African American religious leader in the Muslim community.
Born in New York City, he was an outstanding student at Boston English High School and then attended Winston-Salem Teacher’s College. Farrakhan was an excellent musician; he played the violin and was a calypso singer. It was as a singer that he earned his livelihood before converting to Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam in the 1950s. He quickly worked his way up to a leadership position, becoming the minister of the Boston mosque.
learn more*The Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles was born on this date in 1934. He is an African American minister and Civil Rights activist.
learn more*On this date in 1935 James Patterson, Jr. was born. He was an African American lawyer and minister.
James Oglethorpe “J. O.” Patterson, Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the son of J.O. Patterson, Sr. and Mrs. Deborah M. Patterson. He was the grandson of the COGIC founder, Bishop Charles Harrison Mason. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Fisk University in 1958, his Jurist Doctor degree from DePaul University in 1963, and his Master of Religion degree from the Memphis Theological Seminary in 1985.
learn moreO. C. Smith, an African American singer and minister, was born on this date in 1936.
learn more*This date in 1937 is celebrated as the birth date of Charles Sherrod, a Black activist, educator, and minister. Charles Sherrod was born in Surry, Virginia, and was raised by his Baptist grandmother. As a young boy, he sang in a choir and attended Sunday school at church. When he was older, he became a […]
learn more*On this date from 1937, we celebrate the founding of Wings Over Jordan Choir. This group was organized by the Rev Glen T. Settles in Cleveland, Ohio and was perhaps the most beautiful sounding of all Gospel choirs.
Their otherworldly and almost ghostly sound was heard on over 50 recordings. In the days before television, when families would sit around the radio together, Wings Over Jordan was a popular family radio program that featured this talented African American choir. Beginning in the late 1930s, the show was broadcast out of Cleveland on the CBS network.
learn more*Shirley Caesar was born on this date in 1938. She is an African American gospel singer and pastor.
Caesar was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, her father died when she was eight years old. During that time she took on the responsibility of caring for a semi-invalid mother. Caesar began singing as a young girl in church. She remained determined, and continued with her education while developing her remarkable musical talent. She eventually graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Shaw University.
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