Birthday Celebrations — November 12

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on November 12 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Buck Clayton

Full name: Wilbur Dorsey Clayton

Born November 12, 1911 — died December 8, 1991

Count Basie Orchestra trumpeter and arranger.

Buck Clayton led one of the first jazz bands to play an extended engagement in Asia, in Shanghai from 1934 to 1936, and was the star trumpet soloist of Count Basie’s orchestra from 1936 to 1943, recording with Billie Holiday and Lester Young. He later led a noted series of jam-session recordings. After illness forced him to give up the trumpet, he taught at Hunter College; the NEA named him a Jazz Master in 1991.

Sam Jones

Full name: Samuel Jones

Born November 12, 1924 — died December 15, 1981

Jazz bassist with Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson.

Sam Jones played bass with Cannonball Adderley in 1955-56 and 1959-66, joined the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1966 and worked with Cedar Walton from 1971. He recorded with Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Dizzy Gillespie and wrote the standards ‘Unit 7’ and ‘Del Sasser.’ He also played cello on several recordings.

Diane Watson

Full name: Diane Edith Watson

Born November 12, 1933

Congresswoman, ambassador and first Black woman in the California Senate.

Diane Watson became the first African American woman elected to the California State Senate in 1978. She served as U.S. ambassador to Micronesia and represented Los Angeles in Congress from 2001 to 2011. She began her career as a teacher and school psychologist.

Delano Lewis

Full name: Delano Eugene Lewis

Born November 12, 1938 — died August 2, 2023

NPR president and U.S. ambassador to South Africa.

Delano Lewis was named president of National Public Radio in 1993, the first Black person in the role, and led it until 1998; he was U.S. ambassador to South Africa from 1999 to 2001. Earlier he directed Peace Corps work in Nigeria and Uganda (1966-69) and became chief executive of the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company in 1990.

Booker T. Jones

Full name: Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr.

Born November 12, 1944

Leader of Booker T. & the M.G.’s (‘Green Onions’).

Booker T. Jones was 17 when Booker T. & the M.G.’s recorded ‘Green Onions’ in 1962, and the integrated group served as the house band for Stax Records, backing Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and others. He produced Willie Nelson’s ‘Stardust’ and won Grammys in 2009 and 2011. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the M.G.’s in 1992.

Ken Houston

Full name: Kenneth Ray Houston

Born November 12, 1944

Hall of Fame safety for the Oilers and Washington.

Ken Houston played 14 seasons for the Houston Oilers and Washington, made 12 Pro Bowls and retired with a then-record nine interception returns for touchdowns. He played at Prairie View A&M. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

Marilyn Nance

Born November 12, 1953

Photographer of FESTAC ’77 and Black spiritual life.

Marilyn Nance was the photographer for the U.S. contingent of the North American delegation at FESTAC ’77, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos, making more than 1,500 images that became the 2022 book ‘Last Day in Lagos.’ She has photographed African American spiritual life, and her work is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. She was twice a finalist for the W. Eugene Smith Award.

Michael Moorer

Full name: Michael Lee Moorer

Born November 12, 1967

First left-handed world heavyweight champion.

Michael Moorer won the first WBO light heavyweight title in 1988 and, moving up, took the vacant WBO heavyweight title in 1992, becoming the first southpaw heavyweight champion. In 1994 he beat Evander Holyfield for the WBA and IBF titles, then lost them to 45-year-old George Foreman. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024.

Tevin Campbell

Full name: Tevin Jermod Campbell

Born November 12, 1976

R&B singer of ‘Can We Talk’ and ‘Tell Me What You Want Me to Do’.

Tevin Campbell auditioned for flutist Bobbi Humphrey as a child, signed with Warner Bros. and sang ‘Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)’ on Quincy Jones’ ‘Back on the Block,’ a No. 1 R&B hit. His hits ‘Tell Me What You Want Me to Do,’ ‘Alone with You’ and ‘Can We Talk’ made him one of the biggest teen R&B stars of the early 1990s and earned several Grammy nominations. He later joined the Broadway cast of ‘Hairspray.’

Brittany Packnett Cunningham

Full name: Brittany N. Packnett Cunningham

Born November 12, 1984

Activist and co-founder of Campaign Zero.

Brittany Packnett Cunningham emerged as a leader after the 2014 Ferguson protests and served on Missouri’s Ferguson Commission and President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. She co-founded Campaign Zero, a police-reform policy platform, in 2015, and hosts the podcast ‘Undistracted.’ Time named her one of its 12 New Faces of Black Leadership.

Omarion

Full name: Omari Ishmael Grandberry

Born November 12, 1984

B2K lead singer and solo R&B artist.

Omarion fronted B2K, whose 2002 hit ‘Bump, Bump, Bump’ topped the Billboard Hot 100. His 2005 solo debut ‘O’ debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He starred in the films ‘You Got Served’ and ‘Fat Albert.’

Russell Westbrook

Full name: Russell Westbrook III

Born November 12, 1988

2017 NBA MVP and all-time triple-double leader.

Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for an entire season four times and in 2021 passed Oscar Robertson’s NBA career record for triple-doubles. He was the 2016-17 MVP with the Oklahoma City Thunder and a nine-time All-Star, and he won gold with Team USA at the 2010 World Championship and the 2012 Olympics. He played college basketball at UCLA.