Calendar

A quadruple threat as an actress, singer, dancer, and director, Guy's dynamic career spans from her early days as a dancer for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to her continued work in television and film. Her versatility is evident in her two albums (Jasmine Guy and Try Me), Broadway performances in Grease!, Leader of the Pack, The Wiz, Dancin' in the Street, Bubbling Brown Sugar, and Chicago, and roles in Spike Lee's School Daze, Harlem Nights, Stompin' at the Savoy, and The Vampire Diaries.

Wilson (1825) was the first Black woman to publish a novel in the US (1859), Our Nig or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black.

Outstanding cast, based on a novel by Gloria Naylor.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - the progenitor of rock-n-roll. Tharpe is known for her signature musical style which fused the worlds of gospel and secular music with a sprinkling of her electric guitar.

Lieutenant General Nadja West (ret.) was the 44th Surgeon General of the United States Army.

Franklin (1942-2018) was a singer, songwriter, and pianist whose distinctive vocals and fusion of gospel, soul, and R&B earned her recognition as the "Queen of Soul." She amassed extraordinary commercial and critical successes, selling more than 85 million records worldwide and earning 18 Grammy Awards and 44 nominations. Her achievements continued throughout her career, and in 1987, she made history as the first woman performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine twice named her the greatest singer of all time.

Hayden (1927-1967) was a chemist who specialized in spectrophotometry and chromatography. She's believed to be the first Black scientist to work for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ⁣ She graduated from South Carolina State College (an HBCU) and earned a Master's degree in Chemistry from Howard University (an HBCU).⁣ In the 1950s she joined the National Institutes of Health, and in 1956 she joined the FDA as an analytical chemist. In 1963, she was named director of the Spectrophotometer Research Branch in the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.⁣

Head coach of Temple University's fencing team and the first Black woman to represent the United States in fencing in the Olympic games. In 2017, she was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame. She has also been inducted into the Temple University Hall of Fame and the United States Fencing Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She and her older brother, Bailey Jr, who nicknamed her Maya, were born to Bailey Johnson, a doorman and navy dietitian, and Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, a nurse and card dealer. She was a poet, author, civil rights activist, and director.

Collins (1895 - 1988) chronicled life in Black New Orleans through her photography. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 20, 1895, and raised in a Creole Catholic family as the eldest of six children. At 14, she had to earn wages to supplement the family income and she started working in photography. When she began her career, she passed as white, allowing her to work as an assistant to white photographers and develop her skills.

Entrepreneur in fashion, journalism, and beauty. Founder of Ebony Fashion Fair Tour, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, and Ebony and Jet Magazine and The Negro Digest.

The first Black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School (1951) and the first woman employed as a surgeon at Boston University Medical Center. Pro Life.

It is widely accepted that Mary Dee (1912-1964) was the first Black woman Disc Jockey. She was also one of the first black women admitted to the Association of American Women in Radio and Television.