Poet, Langston Hughes, dies

Zephaniah, Benjamin (1958 - )

Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, playwright, novelist and activist, was born on April 15, 1958, the first of eight children, in Birmingham, England. Zephaniah grew up in Wandsworth until the age of nine when his mother, a Jamaican nurse, fled his father, a postman from Barbados. Leaving behind his twin

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Source: Black Past

Apr

15

1958

August Wilson

August Wilson (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Each work in the series is set in a different decade, and depicts comic and tragic aspects of the

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Source: ThoughtCo

Negritude Movement

The literary movement, Negritude, was born out of the Paris intellectual environment of 1930s and 1940s. It is a product of black writers joining together through the French language to assert their cultural

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Source: Black Past

A Classic Essay by Frederick Douglass, American Slave

Languages

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Source: ThoughtCo

Jacques Rabemananjara

Jacques Rabemananjara , (born June 23, 1913, Tananarive, Madagascar—died April 1, 2005, Paris, France), Malagasy politician, playwright, and

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Source: Brittanica

Apr

1

2005

poet, Sterling Brown

Poet Sterling Brown dies, 1990

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

13

1990

Frances Harper

Born: 9/24/1825 Baltimore, MarylandDied: 2/22/1911 Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFrances Harper was an African-American abolitionist, poet and author. She was also active in other types of social reform and was a member of the Womens Christian Temperance Union, which advocated the federal government

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Kaie Kellough’s Magnetic Equator: An Appreciation in Guyanese-Diasporic-Quarantine

The announcement Tuesday morning (May 19th) that Kaie Kellough had won Canada’s Griffin Poetry Prize—one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world—for his mesmerizing poetry collection, Magnetic Equator —marks an historical moment in the literary histories of diasporic Guyanese and

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Source: Stabroek News - Guyana's Most Trusted Newspaper

African American History and Women Timeline 1940-1949

During the 1940s and 1950s, many African Americans from the South migrated to the North to work in industry there, in what is called the Great

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Source: ThoughtCo

Sean C. Harrison chronicles his journey (Part II)

Battling paranoid schizophrenia in what are considered a person’s most life-defining years was no easy feat for Sean

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Source: Jamaica Gleaner

Efua Sutherland

Efua Sutherland , (born June 27, 1924, Cape Coast, Gold Coast [now in Ghana]—died January 22, 1996), Ghanaian playwright, poet, teacher, and children’s author, who founded the Drama Studio in Accra (now the Writers’ Workshop in the Institute of African Studies, University of

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Source: Brittanica

Jan

22

1996

Looters, Lowlifes, And Liars

Not only has he derided “looters and lowlifes,” but he has also threatened the full force of federal law enforcement t threaten people’s legal right to

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Source: https://seattlemedium.com

Birago Diop - Birthday

Birago Diop , (born December 11, 1906, Dakar, French West Africa [now in Senegal]—died November 25, 1989, Dakar), Senegalese poet and recorder of traditional folktales and legends of the Wolof people.

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Source: Brittanica

Dec

11

1906

DePriest, James (1936-2013)

The African American conductor James DePriest is the nephew of the singer Marian Anderson. DePreist is the Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Laureate Music Director of the Oregon Symphony, and Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Juilliard

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Source: Black Past

African-American History and Women Timeline 1990-1999

More of the Timeline: 1980 - 1989 / 2000

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Source: ThoughtCo

After 65 Years, The First African-American-Owned Travel Agency Continues to Provide Travelers With Unique Experiences – Free Press of Jacksonville

More than 80 years ago, postal service worker and travel writer Victor Hugo Green had the foresight to create The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide that was initially the go-to source for black American

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Source: Free Press of Jacksonville – Florida’s First Coast Quality Black Weekly

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the 1920s. During the time, it was known as the New Negro Movement, named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. The Movement also included the new African-American cultural

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Source: BlackHistory.com

Breyten Breytenbach

Breyten Breytenbach , , pseudonym Jan Blom (born Sept. 16, 1939, Bonnievale, S.Af.), exiled South African writer who was a leading Afrikaner poet and critic of apartheid. He became a naturalized French

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Source: Brittanica

Harlem Renaissance poet and author, author

Harlem Renaissance poet and author, author of the first best seller written by an African American, Claude McKay, dies

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Source: Blackfacts.com

May

22

1948

Four term mayor of Langston Okla.

Melvin B. Tolson was mayor of Langston Oklahoma for four terms beginning in 1954. Tolson was a member of the Langston University faculty from 1947-1965.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

0

1954

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes , in full James Mercer Langston Hughes (born February 1, 1902, Joplin, Missouri, U.S.—died May 22, 1967, New York, New York), American writer who was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and made the African American experience the subject of his writings, which ranged

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Source: Brittanica

May

22

1967

The African American Experience in Italy, 1852 to 2013

In the following article longtime BlackPast.org contributor and San Diego State University Librarian Robert Fikes discusses African Americanemigrants to and visitors in

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Source: Black Past

Gwendolyn Brooks

Born on June 7, 1917, to a family who belonged to Kansas but later moved to Chicago, Gwendolyn Brooks was an American poet and teacher. Even though both of her parents wanted to pursue their careers as doctors but were unable to do so due to financial constraints, they were supportive of their

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

7

1917

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde , in full Audre Geraldine Lorde, also called Gamba Adisa or Rey Domini (born Feb. 18, 1934, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 17, 1992, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands), African American poet, essayist, and autobiographer known for her passionate writings on lesbian feminism and racial

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Source: Brittanica

'Say Less': Drake Donates $100,000 to Help George Floyd Protesters

Drake may have been born and raised in Canada, but he stands in firm solidarity with those in the United States who are protesting George

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Source: Visit Atlanta Black Star For African-American | Black News and Information

Robert Hayden

Robert Hayden , in full Robert Earl Hayden, original name Asa Bundy Sheffey (born August 4, 1913, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.—died February 25, 1980, Ann Arbor, Michigan), African American poet whose subject matter is most often the black

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Source: Brittanica

Feb

25

1980

John Mercer Langston, considered the first African

John Mercer Langston, considered the first African American to be elected to public office is elected clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio township

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

2

1855

50 diverse children’s picture books to include in your home and school library

Picture books are a wonderful way to start important conversations with your children about our world and the beautiful people in

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Source: North Dallas Gazette

1995: Nigerian author and poet Ken Saro-Wiwa is executed.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

11

1999

Harlem, Mecca of the New Negro

On this day, Survey Graphic published a special issue titled Harlem, Mecca of the New Negro. By the end of the year, editor Alain Locke had reprinted and expanded upon the writings from this issue, producing a full-length anthology of African-American writing called The New Negro. This

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

1

1925

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