Birthday Celebrations — August 28

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on August 28 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Roxie Roker

Full name: Roxie Albertha Roker

Born August 28, 1929 — died December 2, 1995

Actress, journalist, community advocate, and television barrier breaker.

Roker became beloved as Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, one half of prime-time television’s first regularly featured interracial married couple. A Howard University graduate and Negro Ensemble Company performer, she also used journalism and public service to address Black community life.

Rita Dove

Full name: Rita Frances Dove

Born August 28, 1952

Poet, essayist, playwright, professor, Pulitzer Prize winner, and former U.S. poet laureate.

Dove became the first African American appointed U.S. poet laureate after the office received that title. Her writing joins Black family history, music, migration, imagination, and intimate memory with formal range and accessibility.

Quvenzhané Wallis

Born August 28, 2003

Actress, author, and historic Academy Award nominee.

Wallis earned a Best Actress nomination for Beasts of the Southern Wild at age nine, becoming the youngest nominee ever in that category. Her later role in Annie placed a Black girl at the center of a major studio musical and expanded possibilities for young performers.