Black History

  Shirley Bassey   One of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the twentieth century, Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer best known for recording the theme song to three James Bond movies: Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker. Born the youngest child to Nigerian Henry Bassey and Englishwoman Eliza Jane Start on 8 January 1937, in Cardiff, Wales, her career began in the mid-1950s.   From a young age, her […]

07 January 1955 - Marian Anderson becomes first African American to perform at the Met Opera   On the evening of 7 January 1955, the curtain at the Metropolitan Opera in New York rises to reveal Marian Anderson, the first African American to perform with the Met.   By then, Anderson was in the twilight of a career that was equal parts acclaimed and hamstrung by racism. First noticed by […]

Dizzy Gillespie, by name of John Birks Gillespie, (born October 21, 1917, Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S.—died 6 January 1993, Englewood, New Jersey), American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who was one of the seminal figures of the bebop movement.   Gillespie’s father was a bricklayer and amateur bandleader who introduced his son to the basics of several instruments. After his father died in 1927, Gillespie taught himself the trumpet and trombone; for two years he attended the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, […]

  05 January 1993 - Brian Lara scores his maiden Test century with 277 for the West Indies v Australia in drawn 3rd Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground   Lara is considered one of the greatest cricket batsmen of all-time.   One of a family of 11, a natural athlete, and a member of the national under-(age)14 football (soccer) team, Lara was expected from an early age to be the […]

04 January 1935 - Floyd Patterson   Thomas and Annabelle Patterson’s third child, Floyd Patterson was born on 4 January 1935, in North Carolina. Consisting of 13 members, the family was financially weak and Patterson grew up to be an antisocial child who could not read or write until the age of 11. However, he improved both, inside and outside the classroom when he joined the Wiltwyck School for Boys […]

03 January 1987 - Aretha Franklin is the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame   Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music. Long live the Queen.   Started out as a gospel singer this "Queen of Soul's" six-decade-long career has made Franklin one of the most influential and important voices in […]

30 December 1977 - Aesha Ash   Born in Rochester, New York, on 30 December 1977 to Costello and John Ash, Aesha Ash grew up in a strong, supportive working class family with two brothers, Spencer and Jonathan Ash.  From the age of five Ash took jazz and tap lessons.   At 13 years of age, past the time when most girls begin ballet lessons, Ash was accepted into what […]

29 December 2011 - Jamaica   In September 2011, Prime Minister Bruce Golding resigned. Goldings political standing never recovered after his handling of the Christopher Coke case. For nine months, Golding resisted a request from the United States to hand over Coke. His resignation was seen as an effort to help the Jamaica Labour Party, his party, in the upcoming general election.   Golding was replaced by Andrew Holness. However, […]

26 December 1966 The first Kwanzaa   The first day of the first Kwanzaa is celebrated in Los Angeles under the direction of Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach. The seven-day holiday, which has strong African roots, was designed by Dr. Karenga as a celebration of African American family, community, and culture.   In 1965, a deadly riot broke out in the predominantly Black Watts neighborhood of Los […]