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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November 9

Dorothy Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) began her career in a song-and-dance act touring the Chitlin Circuit with her sister, Vivian, billed as the The Wonder Children and managed by their mother, Ruby Dandridge, an aspiring entertainer. 

Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731 – October 9, 1806) had little formal education and was largely self-taught. His enslaved father may have come from the Dogon tribe which had knowledge of astronomy, and he was encouraged by the Ellicott family, Quakers who ran a grist mill in Baltimore County, Maryland near Banneker's farm. It was Major Andrew Ellicott who recruited him to serve on the surveying team laying out the original District of Columbia. Banneker is best know for publishing a series of almanacs containing information on tides, planetary aspects, phases of the moon, and times sunrise and sunset that he had calculated, as well as essays, poems, general knowledge, and weather predictions. The 1793 edition also included correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. Banneker's home burned on the day of his funeral and most of his personal papers and calculations were lost.

Birthdays

Elijah Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 - November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials. He was hailed as an abolitionist martyr and the murder sparked nationwide debates on slavery.

Victor Green (November 9, 1892 - 1960) was the creator and publisher of The Negro Travelers' Green Book from 1934 to 1966. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants and other establishments available to African Americans in the Jim Crow era. Beginning with listings in Harlem where Green lived, it soon included cities throughout the nation and even vacation sites abroad. Fifteen thousand copies were printed annually, with many sold through Esso stations which were one of the few gasoline companies to sell franchises to African Americans. After Green retired from the Postal Service he expanded the travel agency he had started earlier. His wife continued publication of the Green Book after his death, and it was discontinued after civil rights legislation opened to options to travelers.

Ted Rhodes (November 9, 1913 – July 4, 1969) was the first African-American touring professional golfer, and a driving force in opening professional golf up to all players. In 1948 he became the second African American to play in the U.S. Open.

Dorothy Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) began her career in a song-and-dance act touring the Chitlin Circuit with her sister, Vivian, billed as the The Wonder Children and managed by their mother, Ruby Dandridge, an aspiring entertainer. She is best known for her role in the film Carmen Jones, for which she was the first African American woman nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her first film appearance was in the 1935 Our Gang comedy short Teacher's Beau, and her first credited role was in Four Shall Die (1940). She was married to dancer Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers, with whom she appeared in Sun Valley Serenade in 1941.

Robert "Bob" Gibson (born November 9, 1935) is a retired American baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) during his career. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. In 1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.



Events

On November 9, 1956 Mattiwilda Dobbs made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Gilda in Rigoletto. In a review of her performance, Carl Van Vechten wrote that Dobbs' was "glorious ... a warm and brilliant coloratura, and the best Gilda in my experience."Although African American singer Marian Anderson had performed at the Met the previous year, Dobbs was the first African American to be offered a long-term contract. In eight seasons, she performed 29 times, including Zerbinetta, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Oscar in Un ballo in maschera.

Charlie Sifford was the winner of the Long Beach Open (November 9, 1957). He became the first African American to win a major Professional Golf tournament (it wasn't an official PGA Tour event but it was co-sponsored by the PGA and had well known white players in the field). Mr Sifford became a member of the tour in 1961 and went on to win two official money events. He also won the 1975 PGA Seniors' Championship. In 2004 he  became the first African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Photo Gallery

On November 9, 1925 Body and Soul was released. It was produced, written,
directed, and distributed by Oscar Micheaux, and was the film debut of Paul Robeson.

Zora Neale Hurston photographed by Carl Van Vechten in Chicago on November 9, 1934.

Publications

Jet Magazine. November 9, 1972.

Jet Magazine, November 9, 1987

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