People, Locations, Episodes

Pearl Primus, Choreographer born

*Pearl Primus was born on this date in 1919. She was a Trinidadian American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. Her work helped establish the importance of African American dance in United States culture.

Norma Miller, Dancer, and Choreographer born

*Norma Miller was born on this date in 1919.  She was a Black lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the “Queen of Swing.”   Norma Miller was born in Harlem, New York, to her mother, Alma, and father, Norman, a soldier from Bridgetown, Barbados. She was named after her father, who died from pneumonia a month before her birth. She […]

William Warfield, Baritone Vocalist born

*On this date, William Warfield was born in 1920. He was an African American Vocalist and singer.

Warfield was the eldest of five sons from West Helene Arkansas. While very young, his father, Robert, moved the family to Rochester, New York seeking better educational and employment opportunities. While in high school, Warfield entered the regional auditions of the National Music Educators League Competition and the National Finals later that year in St. Louis winning both.

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. […]

Allen Hoskins, Child Actor born.

*Allen Hoskins was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black child actor and rehabilitation counselor.   Allen Clayton Hoskins was born in Boston, but his parents, Clayton H. Hoskins and Florence A. Fortier Hoskins, moved the family to Los Angeles, and in 1922, his acting career began. His younger sister Jannie also appeared […]

Walter H. Williams, Artist born

*Walter H. Williams was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black artist, painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Walter Henry Williams Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, a compassionate artist, died from pneumonia when Williams was five. His strict, authoritative father then took custody of him and his younger sister. Due to […]

Afrocubanismo, an article

*Afrocubanismo is affirmed on this date in 1920.  This was an artistic and social movement in Black-themed Cuban culture with origins in the 1920s, as in works by the cultural anthropologist Fernando Ortiz. The Afrocubanismo movement focused on establishing the legitimacy of Black identity in Cuban society, culture, and art. The movement developed in the […]

The Emperor Jones (Stage Play) Debuts

*On this date in 1920, The Emperor Jones held its first performance.  It’s a play written by white-American dramatist Eugene O’Neill.   For the first time in mainstream American Theatre, there was a production featuring a full commitment to the principles of the Art Theatre movement.  It’s the story of Brutus Jones, a resourceful, self-assured Black (former) Pullman Porter, who kills another Black man in a […]

Esther Rolle, Actress of Stage, Screen, and Television born

On this date in 1920, Esther Rolle was born. She was an African American Emmy Award-winning actress.

She was born in Pompano Beach, FL, the tenth of 18 children birb ti parents were of Bahamian descent. Rolle attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, and then attended Spelman College for a year before moving to New York. She supported herself by working in a pocketbook factory while auditioning for the theater.

Carol Channing, Entertainer born

*Carol Channing was born on this date in 1921. She is an African American actress.

She was born in Seattle, Washington. When she left home to attend Bennington College, her mother informed her that her father, a journalist whom she had believed was born in Rhode Island, was actually a light-complected African American born in Augusta, Georgia who had passed for white, saying that the only reason she was telling her was so she wouldn’t be surprised “if she had a black baby”.

Robert McFerrin Sr., Operatic Baritone born

*Robert McFerrin, Sr. was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black operatic baritone and the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Harold Nicholas, Tap Dancer born

*On this date we recall the birth of Harold Nicholas in 1921. He was a Black dancer specializing in Tap.

Reginald Gammon, Artist, and Printmaker born

*Reginald Gammon was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black artist, printmaker, and art educator born in Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated high school in 1941 and received a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts (now known as the University of the Arts). After taking a job at the Philadelphia Naval […]

The Musical ‘Shuffle Along’ Debuts on Broadway

On this date in 1921, “Shuffle Along” became one of the earliest African American Broadway Musicals. The show was an all-Black musical comedy by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle.

“Shuffle Along” was written, produced, directed, and performed by Blacks. This musical comedy was tried out in Harlem; Washington, DC; New Jersey; and Philadelphia before it opened in New York and set the pattern for Black musicals for many years after its premiere. “Shuffle Along” gave us such hit songs as: “Shuffle Along,” “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” “Gypsy Blues,” and “Love Will Find A Way.”

Slappy White, Comedian born

*”Slappy” White was born on this date in 1921.  He was a Black comedian and actor.   Melvin Edward “Slappy” White was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  His official biography reported that he “ran away to join the circus” as a child. White was born near the old Royal Theatre in Baltimore; by age 10, he […]