September 6

Joel Augustus (J. A.) Rogers (September 6, 1883 - March 26, 1966) was a self-taught historian and anthropologist. His books include 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro and Superman to Man, which takes the form of dialogue between a Pullman porter and a racist white Southern politician. (Rogers had briefly worked as a porter while living in Chicago.) He wrote for the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Enterprise and had a syndicated cartoon "Your History" featuring items from his research in black history. He was one of the few black journalists to cover World War II for the United States.

Birthdays

Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 - November 4, 1931) was a New Orleans cornet player and bandleader credited with combining ragtime, gospel, marching band music, and rural blues to create what would later be known as jazz. He suffered a schizophrenic breakdown in 1907 and was institutionalized until his death 25 years later.

Cornelius Coffey (September 6, 1903 - March 2, 1994) was the first African American to be licensed as both a pilot and aeronautical mechanic. Durin the 1930's he operated the Coffey School of Aeronautics on Chicago's South Side and many of his 1500 students went on to become Tuskegee Airmen. He also invented a carburetor heater to prevent icing, and a variation of it is still being used.

Lee Andrew Archer, Jr. (September 6, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen (302nd Fighter Squadron, USAAF) flying 169 missions during World War II, and shooting down three enemy aircraft over Hungary in one mission on October 12, 1944. He also flew during the Korean War before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970. After retirement he became a vice president for General Foods and in 1987 he helped establish the food conglomerate TLC Beatrice. He also served as a technical adviser for the film Red Tails but passed away while the film was in post-production.

Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was a blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. He was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries. His lazy, slack-jawed singing, piercing harmonica and hypnotic guitar patterns were one of the blues' most easily identifiable sounds in the 1950s and 60s, with a significant impact on rock & roll artists.

Charles C. Rogers (September 6, 1929 - September 21, 1990), a West Virginia State College ROTC graduate, is the highest-ranking African American recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was a Lt. Colonel commanding a battalion of the 1st Artillery when the fire support base was attacked by the NVA on November 1, 1968. He retired in 1984 as a Major General and became a Baptist minister serving US troops stationed in Germany.

Harold Russell Scott, Jr. (September 6, 1935 - July 16, 2006) was a stage director, actor and educator, who broke racial barriers in American theater. Scott first became known for his work as an electrifying stage actor with a piercing voice, and later as an innovative director of numerous productions throughout the country, from Broadway to the Tony Award-winning regional theater, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where he was the first African American artistic director.

Jamaa Fanaka (born Walter Gordon, September 6, 1942 - April 1, 2012) made three commercial feature films before he graduated summa cum laude from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television: “Welcome Home, Brother Charles” (1975), “Emma Mae” and “Penitentiary" (1976). They were released after his 1973 graduation and “Penitentiary", starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, became the highest grossing independent film of 1979. He was one of the few African American members of the Directors Guild of America and founder of its African American steering committee (1994) .

Idrissa Akuna (Idris) Elba (born September 6, 1972) is a British actor, producer, singer, rapper, and DJ. He is best known for portraying drug lord and aspiring businessman Russell "Stringer" Bell in the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire, and Detective John Luther in the BBC One series Luther. He has won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Luther.




Events

On September 6, 1905 Atlanta barber and businessman Alonzo Herndon established what would become Atlanta Life Insurance Company. It expanded into six other states and Herndon became one of the wealthiest African American businessmen in the country. He was a founding member of both Booker T. Washington's National Negro Business League and W.E.B. DuBois's Niagara Movement.

On September 6, 1960, Rafer Johnson became the first African American gold medalist in the decathlon at the Olympic Games in Rome. He was also the team's flagbearer during the opening ceremonies. An all-sport standout at Kingsburg (CA) High School, he became interested in the decathlon after meeting Bob Mathias, who was from the town of Tulare only 24 miles away. Johnson set a world record in his fourth attempt at the decathlon as a freshman on the UCLA track team in 1954, then won at the Pan-Am games the next year, and came in second in the 1956 Olympics behind teammate Milt Campbell.

On September 6, 1966 four days of rioting began in Atlanta's Summerhill district after police shot a African American man suspected of car theft. SNCC members were arrested after refusing to turn off a loudspeaker brought in for residents to air their concerns. SNCC headquarters were raided and chairman Stokely Carmichael was convicted of inciting to riot and disorderly conduct.

On September 6, 1988 Lee Roy Young was sworn in as the first African American Texas Ranger. After serving in the Navy he began his law enforcement career as a guard at the state capitol and then as a highway patrolman, retiring in 2003.

On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, who was the oldest living Buffalo
Soldier, died at the age of 111. He enlisted in the 10th Cavalry at the age of 15, first serving in Arizona under General John J Pershing in tracking Pancho Villa. He then served in Maryland where he tended President Roosevelt's horses and was a member of the Buffalo Soldiers Drum and Bugle Corps. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.




Photo Gallery

Christiana Colored School 111 C    Date: September 6, 1920.
One of Delaware's first colored schools. Donated by the DuPonts before the fires
 that tried to prevent blacks from education in Newcastle County.

Dorothy Dandridge photographed with her bridal party
as she married Harold Nicholas on September 6, 1942.

Whitney Houston photographed holding a copy of her first album,
at the Arista Records Studio in New York, on September 6, 1984.

On September 6, 1987, pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson and his
team concluded a historic 22-hour operation to separate twins joined at the head.

On September 6, 2007 Effi Barry passed away at age 63. She was a former
model and the ex-wife of former Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry.

President Barack Obama stands with his family during the final day of the
 Democratic National Convention on September 6, 2012 in Charlotte,
North Carolina. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

Bishop Martin D. McLee, leader of The United Methodist Church’s New York Area, died September 6, 2014.

Publications

A. Phillip Randolph and Bayard Rustin,
Life Magazine, September 6, 1963

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