Birthday Celebrations — November 6

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on November 6 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Juanita Hall

Full name: Juanita Long Hall

Born November 6, 1901 — died February 29, 1968

First Black performer to win a Tony Award.

Juanita Hall originated Bloody Mary in ‘South Pacific’ in 1949, winning the first Tony Award ever given to an African American performer, and reprised the role in the 1958 film. She also starred as Madame Liang in ‘Flower Drum Song’ on stage and screen. Trained at Juilliard, she sang in the choir of ‘The Green Pastures’ and directed the Juanita Hall Choir.

Derrick Bell

Full name: Derrick Albert Bell Jr.

Born November 6, 1930 — died October 5, 2011

Legal scholar, founder of critical race theory.

Derrick Bell supervised some 300 school desegregation cases for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and in 1971 became the first tenured Black professor at Harvard Law School. His writings, including ‘Faces at the Bottom of the Well’ and the theory of ‘interest convergence,’ helped found critical race theory. He gave up his Harvard professorship in 1992 in protest over its failure to hire a woman of color, and taught at NYU until his death.

Mack Jones

Full name: Mack Fletcher Jones

Born November 6, 1938 — died June 8, 2004

Braves outfielder and the first Montreal Expos hero, ‘Mack the Knife’.

Mack Jones played 10 seasons in the majors, hitting 31 home runs for the Milwaukee Braves in 1965. He became a Montreal fan favorite with the expansion Expos in 1969, hitting the first major league home run on Canadian soil, and the left-field bleachers at Jarry Park were nicknamed ‘Jonesville.’ He later coached youth baseball and football in Atlanta.

Ann Hobson Pilot

Born November 6, 1943

Principal harpist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 29 years.

Ann Hobson Pilot became principal harp of the National Symphony Orchestra in 1966, widely recognized as the first African American woman to hold a principal position in a major orchestra. She joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1969 and served as its principal harp from 1980 until her retirement in 2009. John Williams wrote the harp concerto ‘On Willows and Birches’ for her, and she is the subject of the documentary ‘A Harpist’s Legacy.’

Eloise Laws

Full name: Lavern Eloise Laws

Born November 6, 1943

R&B singer of the musical Laws family.

Eloise Laws recorded for Invictus, ABC, Liberty and Capitol, beginning with her 1977 album ‘Ain’t It Good Feeling Good.’ She is the sister of flutist Hubert Laws, saxophonist Ronnie Laws and singer Debra Laws. She earned a Drama Desk nomination for the Broadway revue ‘It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues.’

Corey Glover

Full name: Corey Cornell James Glover

Born November 6, 1964

Lead singer of Living Colour; actor in ‘Platoon’.

Corey Glover is the frontman of Living Colour, the Black rock band whose 1988 debut ‘Vivid’ and single ‘Cult of Personality’ won a Grammy and broke color lines on MTV. He played Francis in Oliver Stone’s ‘Platoon’ in 1986. He has also toured as vocalist with the New Orleans band Galactic.

Colson Whitehead

Full name: Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead

Born November 6, 1969

Novelist, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for ‘The Underground Railroad’ (2017) and ‘The Nickel Boys’ (2020), one of only four novelists to win twice, and ‘The Underground Railroad’ also won the National Book Award. His other novels include ‘The Intuitionist,’ ‘Sag Harbor,’ ‘Harlem Shuffle’ and ‘Crook Manifesto.’ He received the 2021 National Humanities Medal, presented in 2023.

Lamar Odom

Full name: Lamar Joseph Odom

Born November 6, 1979

Two-time NBA champion and 2011 Sixth Man of the Year.

Lamar Odom was the fourth pick of the 1999 NBA draft and won back-to-back championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010, earning Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. He won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2004 Olympics and a gold at the 2010 World Championship. His 2015 near-fatal overdose and recovery drew wide public attention.

Patina Miller

Full name: Patina Renea Miller

Born November 6, 1984

Tony Award-winning actress for ‘Pippin’.

Patina Miller won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as the Leading Player in the Broadway revival of ‘Pippin,’ after earning Tony and Olivier nominations as Deloris in ‘Sister Act.’ She played Commander Paylor in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay’ and Raquel Thomas in the Starz series ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan.’ She is a Carnegie Mellon graduate.

Jozy Altidore

Full name: Josmer Volmy Altidore

Born November 6, 1989

U.S. men’s soccer striker, 42 international goals.

Jozy Altidore scored 42 goals in 115 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team and played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He won the MLS Cup with Toronto FC in 2017 and played in Europe for Villarreal, Hull City, AZ Alkmaar and Sunderland. He was born to Haitian immigrant parents.

Jamal Roberts

Born November 6, 1997

Winner of ‘American Idol’ season 23 (2025).

Jamal Roberts, a physical education teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, won the 23rd season of ‘American Idol’ in May 2025, the second Black man to win the competition after Ruben Studdard. His coronation single was ‘Heal.’ He has toured and recorded since his win.