Birthday Celebrations

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on September 15 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Full name: Festus Claudius McKay

Born September 15, 1889 — died May 22, 1948

Jamaican American poet and novelist.

"If We Must Die" became an anthem of Black resistance, and Home to Harlem the first bestseller by a Black author in America; some sources give 1890.

Full name: Robert Waltrip Short

Born September 15, 1924 — died March 21, 2005

Cabaret singer and pianist.

For over 35 years at the Café Carlyle, Short championed the American songbook and the Black songwriters who built it.

Full name: Julian Edwin Adderley

Born September 15, 1928 — died August 8, 1975

Jazz alto saxophonist and soul-jazz pioneer.

Adderley played on Kind of Blue, then led one of jazz’s most popular bands with "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy."

Full name: Jessye Mae Norman

Born September 15, 1945 — died September 30, 2019

Operatic soprano.

The Augusta, Georgia native commanded the world’s opera houses with five Grammys and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Born September 15, 1977

Nigerian novelist and essayist.

Americanah and "We Should All Be Feminists" made her a defining global literary voice, sampled by Beyoncé and taught worldwide.

Birthday Celebrations — September 15