September 7

Artist Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917 - June 6, 2000) became nationally known while still in his twenties when Fortune Magazine featured his "Migration" series of paintings depicting the exodus of African Americans from the South to Northern cities. He taught at the University of Washington and won the 1970 Spingarn Medal. In May 2007, the White House Historical Association purchased Lawrence's The Builders (1947) for $ 2.5 million at auction.

The Cabinet Maker by Jacob Lawrence, 1957

Iceman by Jacob Lawrence, 1936

Birthdays

John Merrick (September 7, 1859 - August 6, 1919) was a Durham NC businessman who invested the profits from his eight barbershops in real estate, He was a founder of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company which at his death was the largest black-owned insurance company in the nation. He was instrumental in founding the Mechanics and Farmers Bank, NCCU, Lincoln Hospital and a library for the black Durham community.

Harold Amos (September 7, 1918 - February 26, 2006) was drawn to a career in microbiology as a child after reading a biography of Louis Pasteur. He was on the Harvard Medical School faculty for almost 50 years, and was its first black department chair. After his retirement he served as the first national director of the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program.

Louise Bennett Coverley (September 7, 1919 - July 26, 2006) was a Jamaican poet, folklorist and activist. By writing and performing her poetry in the Jamaican Patois or Creole, she was instrumental in having this people's dialect being given literary recognition. Her 1954 rendition of the Jamaican traditional song "Day Dah Light" was recorded by Harry Belafonte as "Day O".

Theressa Hoover (September 7,1925 - December 21, 2013) was named chief executive of the Women's Division of the UMC General Board of Global Ministries in 1968, the first African American woman to hold such a position in any denomination. She had worked with the Women's Division for the previous 20 years promoting leadership training and starting WSCS units throughout the segregated Central Jurisdiction. Her 1983 book With Unveiled Face details the history of UMW and its predecessor organizations. In 2004, Ebony Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential African American women.

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins was widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", &"Airegin", have become jazz standards. He received a Lifetime Grammy Award in 2004 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010.

Events

On September 7, 1853, Sojourner Truth spoke at a women's suffrage convention in New York City During the convention, young men greeted her with “a perfect storm,” hissing and groaning. In response, Truth said, “You may hiss as much as you please, but women will get their rights anyway. You can’t stop us, neither”

On September 7, 1960, at he Olympic Games in Rome,Wilma Rudolph became the first woman to win three gold medals, competing in the 100 and 200 meters as well as the 4x100 meter relay. She had previously won bronze in 1956 for the women's relay at the age of 16.

On September 7, 1993, Joycelyn M. Elders became the first African American and the first woman to be named United States Surgeon General. She was a strong advocate for comprehensive health education, including sex education, in schools.





Photo Gallery

Chubby Checker leads Conway Twitty and Dick Clark through the Twist, September 7, 1960.

Malcolm X speaks to a crowd at a rally in Harlem at 115 St. and Lenox Ave on September 7, 1963. 

Michael Jackson poses for a portrait session at home on September 7, 1976 in Los Angeles.
 (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Kenneth Morris, Jr., great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and
great-great-grandson  of Booker T. Washington, speaks to South Middle School students about
 his heritage, slavery and the importance of education, September 7, 2012.

President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama share an embrace as they are welcomed
 by a crowd of eight thousand supporters during a campaign stop at the University of Iowa
 campus, in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday September 7, 2012. (David Purdy/The Des Moines Register)

September 7, 2014 -- Serena Williams defeats Caroline Wozniacki in the
 women's singles final on Day 14 of the 2014 US Open.

Publications

William H. Johnson: An American Modern (Jacob Lawrence Series on Ameri)
by Teresa G. Gionis. $20.48. . Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication Date: September 7, 2011.  

At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--
A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of
 Black Power by Danielle L. McGuire. $13.99. 352 pages.
Author: Danielle L. McGuire. Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (September 7, 2010)

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