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Mar 26
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Sarah Vaughan


The Woman Who Was Said To Have "The Most Wholly Beautiful Voice In All Jazz History," Was Born In Newark, New Jersey, On March 27, 1924.

Sarah  Lois Vaughan Began Her Musical Career As A Child, Singing In Church, And Playing Piano And Organ.

Her Big Break Came When She Won First Prize During A Talent Show At Harlem’s Famed Apollo Theater. In Addition To Being Paid $10.00, She Performed For A Week At The Apollo.

Singer, Billy Eckstine Heard Her Unique Vocal Style And Introduced Her To Band Leader, Earl Hines, Who Hired Her As A Pianist And Vocalist With His Band, In 1943. She Was 19 Years Old.

With The Talents Of Jazz Greats, Charlie Parker And Dizzie Gillespie, Vaughan Recorded Her First Hit, "Lover Man," In 1945. Following That Release, She Began Selling An Average Of 3 Million Records Per Year.

Her First Record To Sell A Million Copies Was "Broken-Hearted Melody," Released In 1959.
Other Major Hits For Vaughan Included: "Misty," "Smooth Operator" And "Send In "The Clowns."

Throughout Her Long And Impressive Career, "The Devine One," As She Was Sometimes Called,  Made Movie And Television Appearances, Toured Internationally And Performed At The White House.

She Won A Grammy Award For Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female, For A Performance Of George Gershwin’s Music, With The Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1985 She Received A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Vaughn Was Also Inducted Into The American Jazz Hall Of Fame.

Sarah
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Mar 26
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Pastor, Richard Allen

Richard Allen, African American Pastor And The Founder Of The African Methodist Episcopal Church, Died March 26, 1831.

Richard Allen Was Born A Slave In Philadelphia, On February 14, 1760. He Bought His Own Freedom And Became A "Strolling Preacher" In Philadelphia. Together With Absalom Jones, He Organized The Free African Society, One Of The First Black Organizations In America.

In July, 1794, Allen Founded The Bethal African Methodist Espicopal Church Of Philadelphia, The First African American-Controlled Church In America, And Believed To Be The Oldest Property Continually Owned By African Americans.

On April 10, 1816, Richard Allen Was Elected First Bishop Of The African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Church Had Broken Away From The White-Dominated Mehtodist Church Earlier That Same Year. Today The AME Is One Of The Largest Black Religious Organizartions In America.

Known To Be Industrious And Thrifty, Allen Managed A Successful Boot & Shoe Store, Becoming One Of The Richest And Most Prominent Blacks Of His Day.

Richard Allen Was Also The Main Force Behind The First African American National Convention, Held Only Five Months Before His Death.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." --Hubert Gaddy,
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Mar 11
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Charles Fuller

On March 12, 1982, A Soldier's Play, A Work By Charles H. Fuller, Won The Pulitzer Prize For Drama. Fuller Is Only The Second Black Playwright To Win The Award.

A Soldier's Play Told The Story Of The Racially Charged Search By A Black Captain For The Murderer Of His Black Sergeant On A Louisiana Army Base In 1944.

Although The Play Enjoyed A Long Run, Fuller Has Said It Never Played On Broadway Because He Refused To Drop The Last Line: "You'll have to get used to Black people being in charge."

A Soldier's Play Was Made Into A 1984 Film, A Soldier's Story, For Which Fuller Himself Wrote The Screen Adaptation. His Screenplay Was Nominated For An Academy Award, A Golden Globe Award, And A Writers Guild Of America Award. It Won An Edgar Award.

Other Plays By The Philadelphia Native Include: The Village: A Party, A.K.A. The Perfect Party (1968), The Sunflowers (1969) (A Group Of Plays), Untitled Play (1971), In My Many Names And Days (1972), In The Deepest Part Of Sleep (1974), Candidate (1974), First Love (1974) The Lay Out Letter (1975), The Brownsville Raid (1975) And
Sparrow in Flight (1978).

Charles Fuller Is The Co-Founder And Co-Director Of The Afro-American Arts Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,

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Mar 03
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Track And Field Star, Jackie Joyner Kersee Was Born March 3, 1962, In East St. Louis, Illinois.

Joyner-Kersee Attended UCLA, Where She Starred In Both Track And Basketball From 1980-1985. She was honored On February 21, 1998 As One Of The 15 Greatest Players In UCLA Women's Basketball.

One Of the Greatest Female Athletes In History, She Won A Silver Medal In The Heptathlon In The 1984 Olympics And Gold Medals In the 1988 and 1992 Games. She Also Won A Gold Medal In The Long Jump In 1988 And A Bronze At The 1992 Olympics.

Joyner-Kersee Is The Heptathlon World Record-Holder And American Record-Holder In The Long Jump. Joyner-Kersee Was The First Woman To Score Over 7,000 Points In A Heptathlon Event (During The 1986 Goodwill Games). In 1986, She Received The James E. Sullivan Award As the Top Amateur Heptathlete In The United States.

After Her Retirement, She Started The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation To Encourage Kids In her Underprivileged Hometown To Play Sports.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,
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Feb 26
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Marian Anderson

Opera Singer,  Marian Anderson,
 Was Born February 27, 1897, In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On January 7, 1955  Anderson Appeared At The Metropolitan Opera In New York, As Ulrica In Verdi's Masked Ball --- Making Her The First African American To Perform At The Met.

Considered The Greatest Contralto Of Her Time, Anderson Was Told By Famed Conductor, Artuno Toscanini, "A Voice Like Yours Comes Once In A Century."

As Celebrated As She Was, Anderson Was Not Immune To Racism. In 1939, The Daughters Of The American Revolution (DAR) Refused Permission For Anderson To Sing To An Integrated Audience In Constitution Hall. The District Of Columbia Board of Education Declined A Request To Use The Auditorium Of A White Public High School. As A Result Of The Ensuing Furor, Thousands Of DAR Members, Including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Resigned.

Subsequently, The Roosevelts, With Walter White, Then-Executive Secretary Of The NAACP, And Anderson's Manager, Impresario Sol Hurok, Persuaded Secretary Of The Interior Harold L. Ickes, To Arrange An Open Air Marian Anderson Concert on The Steps Of The Lincoln Memorial.

The Concert, Which Took Place Easter Sunday, 1939,  Began With A Dignified And Stirring Rendition Of  "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," And  Attracted An Integrated  Crowd Of More Than 75,000.  It Was Heard On National Radio By An  Audience Of Millions.


In 1943, Marian Performed At Constitution Hall, At A Benefit For Chinese Relief.
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