January 2

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989) earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1918, Master of Science degree in economics in 1919, and Ph.D. in economics in 1921, all from the University of Pennsylvania.

John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was a noted historian and past president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Historical Association, best known for his work From Slavery to Freedom, first published in 1947, and continually updated. More than three million copies have been sold. He was  the son of Buck Franklin, an Oklahoma civil rights attorney who defended the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, and named for his father's friend, educator John Hope, president of Atlanta University. Dr. Franklin was a graduate of Fisk University (1935), and held an MA (1936) and PhD (1941) from Harvard, He taught at Fisk, St. Augustine's College,  North Carolina Central University, Howard, University of Chicago, and Duke.


Birthdays

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. He is regarded as the first major African American feature filmmaker, the most successful African American filmmaker of the first half of the twentieth century and the most prominent producer of race films. He produced both silent films and "talkies" after the industry changed to incorporate speaking actors.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989) earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1918, Master of Science degree in economics in 1919, and Ph.D. in economics in 1921, all from the University of Pennsylvania.In 1927, she became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. From 1919 to 1923, She was the granddaughter of A.M.E. Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner and niece of artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. She was the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, serving from 1919 to 1923.

St. Clair Drake (born John Gibbs St. Clair Drake, January 2, 1911 – June 15, 1990) was one of the first African American faculty members at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he taught for 23 years, before leaving to found the African and African American Studies program at Stanford University. He was a sociologist and anthropologist whose scholarship and activism led him to document much of the social turmoil of the 1960s, establish some of the first Black Studies programs in American universities, and contribute to the independence movement in Ghana.

Juanita Elizabeth Jackson Mitchell (January 2, 1913-July 7, 1992)  graduated, from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in education in 1931. Four years later she earned a M.A. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania as well. In 1950 she became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Law, and the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland. From 1935 to 1938, she was special assistant to Walter F. White, NAACP Executive Secretary, serving as National Youth Director. During this time she organized and developed programs on race relations for the organization's Youth and College Division, and later did the same for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Calvin Hill (born January 2, 1947) was the first graduate of an Ivy League college to be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft when the Dallas Cowboys made him the 24th overall pick in 1969. He was 1969 Rookie of the Year and played in four Pro Bowls and being the first Cowboys running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in one season, He played six years in Dallas and later with Washington and Cleveland before retiring in 1981. His son, Grant Hill, was a basketball standout at Duke University before being named (along with Jason Kidd) NBA Rookie of the Year in 1995.

Cuba M. Gooding Jr. was born Jan. 2, 1968 in New York to Barbadian parents. He is a successful actor, with an Academy Award for his performance in "Jerry Maguire". He also has performed in musicals and as a dancer. Recently, he has starred in "Red Tails" (as the CO of the Tuskegee Airmen) and in the historical drama "The Butler". In 2002 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.





Photo Gallery

On January 2, 1966, Leontyne Price, received the 50th NAACP Springarn Medal for her outstanding achievements as a soprano singer and her continued crusade for equality and justice for all people.

Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin, Arthur Mitchell (dancer and founder,Dance Theatre of Harlem) and Harry Belafonte attend the “To Be Young, Gifted And Black” gala on January 2, 1969 at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York City. Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures on the second green at Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course January 2, 2014 in Kaneoh, Hawaii

Publications

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention by Louis Haber. $6.95. Publication: January 2, 1992. Publisher: Sandpiper; 

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