Honoring those we lost on September 2 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Gerald Wilson Born September 4, 1918 — died September 2, 2014 Jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. Wilson wrote for Ellington, Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Ray Charles, led his own celebrated […]
Honoring those we lost on September 1 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ethel Waters Born October 31, 1896 — died September 1, 1977 Singer, actress, and entertainment pioneer. Waters rose from poverty in Chester, Pennsylvania, to introduce enduring songs including "Stormy Weather" and "His Eye Is on the […]
Honoring those we lost on August 31 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Lionel Hampton Full name: Lionel Leo Hampton Born Apr 20, 1908 — died Aug 31, 2002 Jazz vibraphonist, drummer, pianist, bandleader, composer, and big-band innovator. Hampton helped make the vibraphone a major jazz voice after recording […]
Honoring those we lost on August 30 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Govan Mbeki Full name: Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki Born Jul 9, 1910 — died Aug 30, 2001 South African anti-apartheid leader, journalist, intellectual, and African National Congress organizer. Mbeki organized rural workers, wrote influential analyses of […]
Honoring those we lost on August 29 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. David “Honeyboy” Edwards Birth name: David Edwards Born Jun 28, 1915 — died Aug 29, 2011 Delta blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, storyteller, and living link to prewar blues. Edwards traveled and performed with Big Joe Williams, […]
Honoring those we lost on August 28 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Albert Grant Brown Born 1881 — died Aug 28, 1924 Architect, professor, draftsman, and early Black design professional in West Virginia. Brown studied at West Virginia Colored Institute and Tuskegee before returning to teach mechanical and […]
Honoring those we lost on August 27 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Janie Porter Barrett Full name: Janie Aurora Porter Barrett Born Aug 9, 1865 — died Aug 27, 1948 Educator, social reformer, clubwoman, and pioneer in care for Black girls. Barrett founded the Locust Street Social Settlement […]
Honoring those we lost on August 26 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Amelia Boynton Robinson Birth name: Amelia Isadora Platts Born Aug 18, 1911 — died Aug 26, 2015 Voting-rights organizer, educator, businesswoman, and central leader of the Selma movement. Robinson and her family spent decades building Black […]
Honoring those we lost on August 25 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. William Greaves Full name: William Garfield Greaves Born Oct 8, 1926 — died Aug 25, 2014 Documentary filmmaker, actor, producer, writer, editor, and pioneering television journalist. Greaves produced more than 200 documentaries and helped establish Black […]
Honoring those we lost on August 24 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Jan Ernst Matzeliger Born Sep 15, 1852 — died Aug 24, 1889 Inventor whose lasting machine transformed the American shoe industry. Matzeliger created a machine that mechanized the difficult process of shaping and attaching a shoe’s […]