People, Locations, Episodes

James Loewen, Writer, and Scociologist born

*James Loewen was born on this date in 1942.  He was a white-American sociologist, historian, and author.  James William Loewen was born in Decatur, Illinois, to Winifred and David F. Loewen. His mother was a librarian and teacher, and his father was a medical director and doctor.  He graduated in 1960 from MacArthur High School […]

Marguerite Barnett, Educator, and Administrator born

Marguerite Ross Barnett was born on this date in 1942. She was an African American political scientist, administrator, and university president.

Cora B. Marrett, Sociologist born

*Cora Marrett was born on this date in 1942. She is a Black professor and sociologist. Cora Bagley was born in Kenbridge, Virginia, to Horace Bagley and Clorann (Boswell) Bagley. Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a housewife and part-time maid. Her parents only had a sixth-grade education, and Marrett was the […]

Claire O’Connor, Activist born

*Claire O’Connor was born on this date in 1942.  She is a white-American educator, artist, and civil rights, activist.   From St. Paul, Minnesota, her mother was Justine Claire O’Connor, part of the Foot lineage, and her father was (Joseph) Paul O’Connor, born in Dingle peninsula, Ireland.  Both of her parents were early settlers in Red Wing, Minnesota.  After high […]

Bernice Johnson Reagon, Singer and Activist born

*Bernice Johnson Reagon was on this date in 1942. She is a Black folk song leader, composer, scholar, and social activist. Bernice Johnson was the daughter of Beatrice and J.J. Johnson, a Baptist minister. She was born and raised in southwest Georgia, where church and school were an integrated part of her life, with music heavily intertwined […]

Linda Brown, Topeka’s Daughter born

*Linda Brown Thompson was born on this date in 1943.  She was a Black activist, educational consultant, pianist, music teacher, and public speaker. From Topeka, Kansas, Linda Brown was the oldest of three children born to Oliver and Leola Brown.  She graduated from Central High School in Springfield, Missouri, and received certification in early childhood […]

Clementine Pigford, Educator, and Counselor born.

*Clementine Pigford was born on this date in 1943. She was a Black educator, counselor, poet, and author. Clementine Washington was born in Chicago to parents Helen Mims and Eugene Washington. She has one brother, Eugene Washington II. Washington and her family moved to Denver, Colorado, where her father was a civilian Radio Aircraft Technician […]

The United Negro College Fund is Founded

On this date in 1944, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was incorporated with 27 member colleges. UNCF is the nation’s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization.

Ruth Simmons, College Educator, and Administrator born.

Ruth Simmons was born on this date in 1945. She is an African American educator and the first Black president of Brown University.

She was born in Grapeland, Texas, one of 12 siblings in a sharecropper’ family. Vernell Lillie, her high school drama teacher, inspired her to higher education. Simmons won a scholarship to Dillard University in New Orleans. A junior-year stint at Wellesley College helped her discover what she really wanted to do — be a professor. She earned a BA in romance languages from Dillard University and an MA and Ph.D. in romance languages from Harvard.

Georgia Dunston, Scientist, and Professor born

*Georgia Dunston was born on born this date in 1944. She is a Black scientist and professor of human immunogenetics. Georgia Mae Dunston was born to a hard-working Black family in Norfolk, Virginia. Her parents did not attend college but instead worked various commercial jobs. Ulysses, her father, was a cook at a commercial barbecue […]

Tina Sloan Green, Athlete, and Administrator born

*Tina Sloan Green was born on this date in 1944. She is a Black teacher, coach, and administrator. Tina Sloan Green was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Norwood and Sally Sloan, who were deeply religious. She has six siblings, Norwood, Gene, Cordelia, Leonette, Beatrice, and Teresa. Her parents encouraged their children to complete a […]

Cleveland Sellers, Activist, and Educator born

*Cleveland Sellers was born on this date in 1944. He is a Black educator, administrator, and activist. Cleveland “Cleve” Sellers Jr. was born to Cleveland Sellers (Sr.) and Pauline Sellers in Denmark, South Carolina. Denmark was a town of mostly black residents, so much so that, as a child, Sellers was often blind to the […]

Kathleen Cleaver, Black Panther Activist and Educator born

Kathleen Cleaver was born on this date in 1945. She is an African American educator, lawyer, writer, and activist.

Born in Dallas Texas, Kathleen Neal Cleaver’s father was a sociology professor at Wiley College and her mother held a degree in Mathematics. With her father’s work, the family spent many of her early years abroad in Liberia, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone. Cleaver completed high school at the Georgia School in Philadelphia in 1963.

David Taylor, Educator, Author, and Administrator born

*David Taylor was born on this date in 1945. He is a Black author, educator, and administrator. From St. Paul, Minnesota, his father was Clarence Taylor, and his mother was Eula Teresa Vassar. His grandfather’s uncle, Carroll Minges Vassar, moved to Saint Paul in 1888. His grandfather, Joe Vassar, moved his family to Saint Paul […]

Joyce Solomon Moorman, Composer and Educator born

*Joyce Solomon Moorman was born on May 11, 1946. She is a Black composer and educator. Joyce Solomon was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. She attended segregated public schools through high school. Moorman earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in 1968 and, in 1971, a Master’s Degree from […]