Birthday Celebrations — November 1

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on November 1 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Caroline Still Anderson

Full name: Caroline Virginia Still Wiley Anderson

Born November 1, 1848 — died June 1, 1919

Pioneering physician, educator and daughter of abolitionist William Still.

Caroline Still Anderson graduated from Oberlin College in 1868 and earned her M.D. from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1878, among the earliest Black women physicians in the country. She practiced medicine in Philadelphia, co-founded the Berean Manual Training and Industrial School with her husband Matthew Anderson, and helped establish a YWCA branch for Black women. She was the daughter of Underground Railroad leader William Still.

Sippie Wallace

Full name: Beulah Belle Thomas Wallace

Born November 1, 1898 — died November 1, 1986

Classic blues singer and pianist, ‘The Texas Nightingale’.

Sippie Wallace recorded more than 40 songs for Okeh Records between 1923 and 1927, often accompanied by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Clarence Williams. After decades as a church organist in Detroit she returned to performing in the 1960s and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, earning a Grammy nomination in 1983. She died in Detroit on her 88th birthday.

Don Robey

Full name: Don Deadric Robey

Born November 1, 1903 — died June 16, 1975

Houston music entrepreneur, founder of Peacock Records and owner of Duke Records.

Don Robey opened Houston’s Bronze Peacock club in 1945 and founded Peacock Records in 1949, then went into partnership with Memphis-based Duke Records in 1952 and took full control of it in 1953. His labels recorded Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Big Mama Thornton’s original ‘Hound Dog,’ Johnny Ace and gospel groups such as the Dixie Hummingbirds. He sold the company to ABC-Dunhill in 1973.

Margaret Taylor-Burroughs

Full name: Victoria Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs

Born November 1, 1915 — died November 21, 2010

Artist, poet and co-founder of Chicago’s DuSable Museum.

Margaret Taylor-Burroughs was a painter, printmaker, poet and teacher who helped found the South Side Community Art Center, which opened in 1941. In 1961 she and her husband Charles Burroughs opened the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art in their Chicago home, which grew into the DuSable Museum of African American History, which describes itself as the nation’s first independent museum of Black culture. Her poem ‘What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?’ remains widely anthologized.

Lou Donaldson

Full name: Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr.

Born November 1, 1926 — died November 9, 2024

Blue Note alto saxophonist, soul-jazz pioneer and NEA Jazz Master.

Lou Donaldson recorded for Blue Note for most of his career, appearing on Art Blakey’s ‘A Night at Birdland’ sessions in 1954 and leading dates such as ‘Blues Walk’ and ‘Alligator Bogaloo.’ His organ-combo records helped define soul jazz and were heavily sampled by hip-hop producers. He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2013 and died in Florida at 98.

James Bradford

Full name: James Edward ‘Jim’ Bradford

Born November 1, 1928 — died September 13, 2013

Two-time Olympic silver medalist heavyweight weightlifter.

Jim Bradford won silver medals in the heavyweight class at the 1952 Helsinki and 1960 Rome Olympics, and silver at four world championships. A Library of Congress employee for most of his life, he competed on unpaid leave from his job as an assistant bookbinder.

Herb Boyd [Q]

Born November 1, 1938

Journalist, historian and New York Amsterdam News columnist.

Herb Boyd has written for the New York Amsterdam News for more than four decades and taught Black studies at Wayne State University and the City College of New York. His books include ‘Brotherman,’ which won an American Book Award, ‘Baldwin’s Harlem’ and ‘Black Detroit: A People’s History of Self-Determination.’ He grew up in Detroit and was active in the Black Arts Movement there.

Joe Caldwell

Full name: Joe Louis Caldwell

Born November 1, 1941

Olympic gold medalist and NBA and ABA All-Star forward.

‘Jumping Joe’ Caldwell won a gold medal with the U.S. basketball team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics after starring at Arizona State. He was an All-Star in both the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks and the ABA with the Carolina Cougars, one of the few players honored in both leagues. His later career was marked by a long legal dispute with the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis.

Barry Black

Full name: Barry Clayton Black

Born November 1, 1948

First Black chaplain of the United States Senate.

Barry Black served 27 years as a Navy chaplain, rising to rear admiral and Chief of Navy Chaplains. In 2003 he became the 62nd chaplain of the U.S. Senate, the first African American and first Seventh-day Adventist in the post. He was also the first military chaplain to hold the office.

Ronald Bell

Full name: Ronald Nathan Bell (Khalis Bayyan)

Born November 1, 1951 — died September 9, 2020

Kool & the Gang co-founder, saxophonist and chief songwriter.

Ronald Bell co-founded Kool & the Gang in Jersey City with his brother Robert ‘Kool’ Bell and wrote or co-wrote the band’s biggest hits, including ‘Celebration,’ ‘Jungle Boogie,’ ‘Ladies’ Night’ and ‘Cherish.’ He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with his bandmates, and the group entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. He died in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2020.

Willie D [Q]

Full name: William James Dennis

Born November 1, 1966

Rapper and Geto Boys member.

Willie D joined the Houston group Geto Boys in the late 1980s alongside Scarface and Bushwick Bill, helping put Southern hip-hop on the national map with albums such as ‘We Can’t Be Stopped’ and the single ‘Mind Playing Tricks on Me.’ He has also recorded solo albums and was a Golden Gloves boxer before his music career. He later became a commentator and podcaster.

Coco Crisp

Full name: Covelli Loyce Crisp

Born November 1, 1979

MLB center fielder and 2007 World Series champion.

Coco Crisp played 15 major league seasons for Cleveland, Boston, Kansas City and Oakland, winning a World Series with the Red Sox in 2007. He led the American League in stolen bases in 2011 and was a fan favorite in Oakland for his speed and defense.

LaTavia Roberson [Q]

Full name: LaTavia Marie Roberson

Born November 1, 1981

Original member of Destiny’s Child.

LaTavia Roberson was a founding member of Destiny’s Child with Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and LeToya Luckett. She sang on the group’s first two albums, including the hits ‘No, No, No,’ ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ and ‘Say My Name,’ before leaving in 2000. She later appeared on reality television, including ‘R&B Divas: Atlanta.’

Yamiche Alcindor [Q]

Full name: Yamiche Léone Alcindor

Born November 1, 1986

NBC News Washington correspondent and former PBS Washington Week host.

Yamiche Alcindor covered the 2016 campaign for The New York Times, became White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour in 2018 and moderated Washington Week from 2021 to 2023. She joined NBC News as a Washington correspondent in 2022. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, she has won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the White House Correspondents’ Association.

NLE Choppa [Q]

Full name: Bryson LaShun Potts

Born November 1, 2002

Memphis rapper known for ‘Shotta Flow’.

NLE Choppa broke out in 2019 with ‘Shotta Flow,’ which went platinum, and followed with the albums ‘Top Shotta’ and ‘Cottonwood 2.’ He is one of the most streamed young rappers to emerge from Memphis. He has also been outspoken about wellness and veganism.

Stephon Castle

Full name: Stephon Javonte Castle

Born November 1, 2004

San Antonio Spurs guard and 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Stephon Castle won a national championship with UConn in 2024 and was drafted fourth overall by the San Antonio Spurs that June. He was named the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year. He played high school basketball at Newton High School in Covington, Georgia.