People, Locations, Episodes

Avery Clayton, Historian, and Collector born

*Avery Clayton was born on this date in 1947. He was an African American Educator, Artist, Entrepreneur and Historian.

Clayton was born in Los Angeles, CA to Mayme and Andrew Clayton. His mother was a librarian and his father owned a barbershop. He attended Los Angeles area schools and had two brothers, Renai and Lloyd Clayton. After serving in the Vietnam War, he returned to Los Angeles where he studied art at Los Angeles City College and the UCLA School of Fine Arts.

Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Artisan and Philanthropist born

*Peggy Cooper Cafritz was born on this date in 1947. She was a Black art collector, educator, activist, philanthropist, and socialite. Born Pearl Alice Cooper, Peggy Cafritz belonged to one of Mobile, Alabama’s wealthiest black families. She later changed her name legally to her childhood nickname, “Peggy.” The Cooper family gained their wealth through Peggy’s […]

Maren Hassinger, Artist born

*Maren Hassinger’s birth, in 1947, is celebrated on this date. She is a Black artist and educator.   Maren Louise Jenkins was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Helen Mills Jenkins, a police officer and educator, and her late father, Carey Kenneth Jenkins, an architect. She showed a gift for art […]

Phylicia Rashad, Actress born

Phylicia Rashad, an African American actress. was born on this date in 1948.

Michael Peters, Choreographer born

*Michael Peters was born on this date in 1948.  He was dancer and choreographer, best is best known for his work in Michael Jackson music videos. 

Kathleen Battle, Concert Soprano born

*Kathleen Battle was born on this date in 1948. She is an African American concert soprano.

From Portsmouth, Ohio, Kathleen (Deanna) Battle studied with Franklin Bens and earned her bachelor’s (1970) and master’s (1971) degrees from the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. She made her professional singing debut at the Spoleto Festival in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem under the direction of Thomas Schippers. Her Metropolitan Opera debut came five years later in Wagner’s Tannhäuser. Battle has been awarded six honorary doctoral degrees.

Jewelle Gomez, Poet and Playwright born.

*Jewelle Gomez was born on this date in 1948. She is a Black lesbian author, poet, critic, and playwright. Jewelle Lydia Gomez was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dolores Minor LeClaire, a nurse, and John Gomez, a bartender. Gomez was raised by her maternal great-grandmother, Grace, who was born on Native land in Iowa to an African […]

Nell Carter, Singer, and Actress born

*Nell Carter was born on this date in 1948. She was an African American singer and actress.

From Birmingham, Alabama while growing up, Carter listened to her mother’s recordings of Dinah Washington and B. B. King, and her brother’s Elvis Presley records. She liked Doris Day, the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Mathis, and admired the work of Cleo Laine and Barbra Streisand. Early in her career, she performed as a singer on the gospel circuit. She moved on to coffeehouses and nightclubs in her hometown, before going on to New York.

Ntozake Shange, Author, and Educator born

Ntozake Shange was born on this date in 1948. She is an African American playwright, author, and educator.

Samuel L. Jackson, Actor, and Producer born

*Samuel Jackson was born on this date in 1948.  He is a Black actor and film producer.   Samuel Leroy Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Elizabeth Harriett Montgomery and Roy Henry Jackson.  He grew up as an only child in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  His father lived away from the family in Kansas City, Missouri, and later died from alcoholism. Jackson met […]

Leona Mitchell, Soprano Vocalist born

Leona Mitchell was born on this date in 1949. She is known worldwide as one of the greatest African American sopranos to ever perform in opera houses and an Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductee.

The Original Copestedics Are Formed

*The Original Copasetics were formed on this date in 1949. They were an ensemble of star tap dancers formed in New York City. The Copasetics formed due to Bill Bojangles Robinson’s death to help revive the dance art of tap. The first group included composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn, the choreographers Cholly Atkins, Honi Coles, Charles “Cookie” Cook, and […]

Tina Allen, Sculptor born

*Tina Allen was born on this date in 1949.  She was a Black sculptor. She was born Tina Powell in Hempstead, N.Y.  Her father, Gordon “Specs” Powell, was a studio musician for CBS Records who played in “The Ed Sullivan Show” band.  Her mother was a writer and a nurse, and one of Allen’s uncles […]

Debbie Allen, Stage, and Film Artist born

Debbie Allen was born on this date in 1950. She is an African American actress, director, producer, and choreographer.

Born in Houston, TX, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from Howard University. Allen began her career on Broadway in the 1970s in the chorus of “Purlie,” “A Raisin In the Sun,” “West Side Story,” and “Anita,” which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award. She is probabloy best known for her is probably best known for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1982 TV hit, Fame.

Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director born

*This date celebrates Virginia Johnson’s birth in 1950. She is a Black choreographer, former premia ballerina, journalist, and artistic director.   Virginia Johnson was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She began training in classical ballet at three under Therrell Smith, a friend of her mother’s who had trained under Mathilde Kschessinska. When she was thirteen years old, she […]