Eleanora Fagan sunrise 4/7/15, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sunset 7/17/59, New York, New York. AKA Lady Day and Holiday was her father’s last name, she got Billie from Billie Dove, an actress she admired. She dropped out of school at 11 and worked in her mother’s restaurant. When she was 12 she worked in a brothel running […]
Read more "Billie Holiday"Missy Elliott was mentioned recently in two articles: 25 Songs that Tell Us Where Music is Going and Hospital recommends Beyonce and ABBA for CPR training. Melissa Arnette Elliott born 7/1/71 in Portsmith, Virginia. She was an only child. She was also known as Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott. She collaborated with Timbaland. She was in Sista […]
Read more "Missy Elliott"Yes, perhaps her sister is more famous. I have seen her in concert and read 25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music is Going and F.U.B.U./Solange were on the list. Born Solange Piaget Knowles 6/24/86 in Houston, Texas. She has been married twice and has one kids. Beyonce is her older sister. She was in […]
Read more "Solange Knowles"Born Shirley Ann Caesar 10/13/38 in Durham, North Carolina. Started recording when she was 12. Began her professional career in 1957 with Albertina Walker and The Caravans. She graduated from college in 1984 and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta. She recorded Hold My Mule 29 years ago. She has 11 Grammys. She released […]
Read more "Pastor Shirley Caesar"Born Vanessa Lynn Williams 3/18/63 in The Bronx, New York. She was the first black to go from 1st to 12th grade in the Chappaqua School District in New York. Her birth announcement said here she is Miss America. She was crowned the first black Miss America in 1984. She resigned as Miss America seven […]
Read more "Vanessa Williams"Fannie Lou Townsend sunrise 10/6/17, Montgomery County, Mississippi. Sunset 3/14/77 Mound Bayou, Mississippi She was the youngest of 20 kids. She started to pick cotton at age six. She worked on a plantation. She coined the term Mississippi appendectomy for the involuntary sterilization of black women including herself to reduce the population. She ran unsuccessfully […]
Read more "Fannie Lou Hamer"While I was in Austin at the airport a worker told me about the celebrity sightings she saw during Hashtag South by Southwest 2017. She mentioned James Franco in the category as someone who did not take a picture and Wanda Sykes who did. Here are 10 things I learned about Wanda Sykes. Born 3/7/64 […]
Read more "Wanda Sykes"They formed in 1971 in their hometown of Philadelphia with Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy. Their mother, Florez Sledge, was an actress, their father, Edwin Sledge a tap dancer on Broadway, their grandmother Viola, an opera singer and protege of Mary McLeod Bethune. We Are Family was released in 1978 and their best known song. […]
Read more "Sister Sledge"Born Janelle Monae Robinson 12/1/85 in Kansas City, Kansas. She was a CoverGirl spokeswoman. The Boston City Council named 10/16/13 Janelle Monae Day because of her artistry and social leadership. She voiced the role of the veterinarian in Rio 2. She had her on air film debut in Moonlight in 2016 followed by Hidden Figures. […]
Read more "Janelle Monae"I met Anita Hill when I was a professor at New College School of Law and we honored her. Since her initial reluctant testimony during the United States Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas, she has continued to be an advocate for eliminating sexual harassment in workplaces. On April 20, 2017 she continues her […]
Read more "Anita Hill"
