Honoring those we lost on August 13 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Caterina Jarboro Birth name: Katherine Lee Yarborough Born Jul 24, 1898 — died Aug 13, 1986 Opera singer and pioneering Black prima donna on the American opera stage. Jarboro built an international career in Europe before […]
Honoring those we lost on August 12 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Luther Allison Full name: Luther Sylvester Allison Born Aug 17, 1939 — died Aug 12, 1997 Blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and Chicago blues powerhouse. Allison carried the electric Chicago blues tradition onto international stages with […]
Honoring those we lost on August 11 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Samuel Harrison Born Apr 15, 1818 — died Aug 11, 1900 Minister, abolitionist, Civil War chaplain, and advocate for equal military pay. Harrison served as chaplain of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the Civil War’s […]
Honoring those we lost on August 10 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Thomas Elkins Born c. 1818 — died Aug 10, 1900 Dentist, physician, pharmacist, abolitionist, Underground Railroad worker, and inventor. Elkins practiced medicine and dentistry in Albany while aiding freedom seekers through the Underground Railroad and serving […]
Honoring those we lost on August 9 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ruby Hurley Birth name: Ruby Ruffin Born Nov 7, 1909 — died Aug 9, 1980 Civil rights organizer, NAACP administrator, investigator, and voting-rights advocate. Hurley built the NAACP’s first permanent regional office in the Deep South […]
Honoring those we lost on August 8 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. William Augustus Hinton Born Dec 15, 1883 — died Aug 8, 1959 Bacteriologist, pathologist, medical educator, public health pioneer, and Harvard professor. Hinton developed a more accurate blood test for syphilis and wrote the first medical […]
Honoring those we lost on August 7 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ira Aldridge Full name: Ira Frederick Aldridge Born Jul 24, 1807 — died Aug 7, 1867 Actor, playwright, theater manager, abolitionist, and pioneering Black Shakespearean performer. After racism restricted his opportunities in the United States, Aldridge […]
Honoring those we lost on August 6 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. David Walker Born c. 1796 — died Aug 6, 1830 Abolitionist, writer, activist, and author of Walker’s Appeal. Walker’s 1829 Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World condemned slavery, rejected claims of Black inferiority, and […]
Honoring those we lost on August 5 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ernest Whitman Born Feb 21, 1893 — died Aug 5, 1954 Stage and screen actor, vaudeville performer, radio personality, and minister. Whitman moved from ministry and vaudeville into Broadway, radio, and Hollywood during an era when […]
Honoring those we lost on August 4 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Anna Murray Douglass Birth name: Anna Murray Born Mar 8, 1813 — died Aug 4, 1882 Abolitionist, Underground Railroad worker, organizer, and partner in the Douglass family’s freedom work. Murray helped finance and plan Frederick Douglass’s […]