Honoring those we lost on August 15 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Erbie Bowser Born May 5, 1918 — died Aug 15, 1995 Blues and jazz pianist, singer, bandleader, and keeper of the Texas piano tradition. Bowser spent decades performing boogie-woogie, blues, and jazz across Texas, including the […]
Honoring those we lost on August 14 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Alice Childress Birth name: Alice Herndon Born Oct 12, 1916 — died Aug 14, 1994 Playwright, novelist, actor, director, and chronicler of working-class Black life. Childress wrote with rare attention to Black women, domestic workers, artists, […]
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 […]