Birthday Celebrations — November 8

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on November 8 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history.

Eartha M. M. White

Full name: Eartha Mary Magdalene White

Born November 8, 1876 — died January 18, 1974

Jacksonville humanitarian and founder of the Clara White Mission.

Eartha White and her adoptive mother, Clara White, founded the Clara White Mission in Jacksonville in 1904 to feed the hungry. She ran several businesses, built the first public school for Black children in Bayard, Florida, and opened an orphanage, a home for unwed mothers and, at 91, a nursing home. She sang with the Oriental American Opera Company in her youth.

Horace Mann Bond

Born November 8, 1904 — died December 21, 1972

Historian and first Black president of Lincoln University.

Horace Mann Bond was an education scholar whose studies challenged racist intelligence testing and whose research supported the NAACP’s Brown v. Board of Education case. He was president of Fort Valley State College and in 1945 became the first Black president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He was the father of civil rights leader Julian Bond.

Esther Rolle

Full name: Esther Elizabeth Rolle

Born November 8, 1920 — died November 17, 1998

Actress who played Florida Evans on ‘Good Times’.

Esther Rolle created Florida Evans on ‘Maude’ and starred as the matriarch of ‘Good Times’ from 1974, publicly pushing for the show to keep a strong Black father figure. She won an Emmy for the TV film ‘Summer of My German Soldier’ in 1979 and appeared in ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and ‘Rosewood.’ Her parents were Bahamian immigrants.

Satch Sanders

Full name: Thomas Ernest Sanders

Born November 8, 1938

Eight-time NBA champion with the Celtics; first Black Ivy League head coach.

Satch Sanders won eight NBA titles as a defensive forward with the Boston Celtics from 1960 to 1973. He became Harvard’s head basketball coach in 1973, the first Black head coach in any sport in the Ivy League, and later created the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011.

Vincent C. Gray

Full name: Vincent Condol Gray

Born November 8, 1942

Mayor of Washington, D.C., 2011-2015.

Vincent Gray chaired the D.C. Council before defeating Adrian Fenty to serve as mayor from 2011 to 2015. He earlier directed the city’s Department of Human Services and was founding executive director of Covenant House Washington. He later represented Ward 7 on the council from 2017 to 2025.

Cleveland Sellers

Full name: Cleveland Louis Sellers Jr.

Born November 8, 1944

SNCC leader jailed after the Orangeburg Massacre; university president.

Cleveland Sellers helped run SNCC’s 1964 Freedom Summer project in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and was the only person convicted after the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre, in which state troopers killed three students; he served seven months and was pardoned in 1993. He later earned a doctorate, directed African American studies at the University of South Carolina and served as president of Voorhees College from 2008 to 2015. His memoir is ‘The River of No Return.’

Minnie Riperton

Full name: Minnie Julia Riperton

Born November 8, 1947 — died July 12, 1979

Soul singer of ‘Lovin’ You,’ famed for her five-octave range.

Minnie Riperton sang with Rotary Connection before her 1975 single ‘Lovin’ You’ hit No. 1, showcasing her whistle register. After a breast cancer diagnosis and a 1976 mastectomy she spoke publicly about the disease, became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society and received its Courage Award from President Carter. She died at 31; she is the mother of actress Maya Rudolph.

Gerald Alston

Born November 8, 1951

Lead singer of the Manhattans (‘Kiss and Say Goodbye’).

Gerald Alston became lead singer of the Manhattans in 1970, voicing the 1976 No. 1 hit ‘Kiss and Say Goodbye’ and the Grammy-winning ‘Shining Star’ (1980). He later had solo R&B hits including ‘Take Me Where You Want To.’ He is from Henderson, North Carolina.

Alfre Woodard

Born November 8, 1952

Oscar-nominated, four-time Emmy-winning actress.

Alfre Woodard was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Cross Creek’ (1983) and has won four Primetime Emmys, for ‘Hill Street Blues,’ ‘L.A. Law,’ ‘Miss Evers’ Boys’ and ‘The Practice.’ Her films include ‘Passion Fish,’ ‘Crooklyn,’ ’12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Clemency.’ She co-founded Artists for a New South Africa.

Chuck Cooper

Born November 8, 1954

Tony Award-winning actor for ‘The Life’.

Chuck Cooper won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as Memphis in ‘The Life.’ His Broadway credits also include ‘Caroline, or Change,’ ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Choir Boy,’ and he has appeared on ‘Law & Order’ and ‘The Good Wife.’ He is the father of actress Lilli Cooper.

Eric B.

Full name: Louis Eric Barrier

Born November 8, 1963

DJ and producer of Eric B. & Rakim.

Eric B. formed Eric B. & Rakim in 1986; their debut ‘Paid in Full’ (1987) is regularly ranked among the greatest hip-hop albums and helped pioneer sample-based production. Songs such as ‘Eric B. Is President’ and ‘I Know You Got Soul’ were heavily sampled by later producers.

Kevin Young

Born November 8, 1970

Poet and former director of the Smithsonian’s African American history museum.

Kevin Young has published more than a dozen books of poetry and criticism, including ‘Jelly Roll,’ a National Book Award finalist, and ‘The Grey Album.’ He directed the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, became poetry editor of The New Yorker in 2017 and led the National Museum of African American History and Culture from 2021 to 2025. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

SZA

Full name: Solána Imani Rowe

Born November 8, 1989

R&B singer-songwriter of ‘Ctrl’ and ‘SOS’.

SZA’s debut album ‘Ctrl’ (2017) helped define alternative R&B, and ‘SOS’ (2022) spent more than ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and set records for weeks in the top ten, with the No. 1 hit ‘Kill Bill.’ She has won multiple Grammy Awards and was raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. She is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment.

Nia DaCosta

Born November 8, 1989

Director of ‘Candyman’ and ‘The Marvels’.

Nia DaCosta directed ‘Candyman’ (2021), which made her the first Black woman director to have a film debut at No. 1 at the U.S. box office, and Marvel’s ‘The Marvels’ (2023). Her debut ‘Little Woods’ won the Nora Ephron Prize at Tribeca. She also directed ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.’

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Wear the history: Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” (Zakia Records) — from the Black Knowledge Wear collection.