Black History MD

Rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer, RZA was born on July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. He is the de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums for the group and its respective members.

Happy Birthday to author, activist, and civil rights leader and the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death, Coretta Scott King who was born on April 27, 1927. More at blackhistoryminidocs.com

Born on April 26, 1886, Ma Rainey, dubbed the "Mother of the Blues" became the first popular stage entertainer to incorporate authentic blues into her song repertoire. A play by August Wilson centered around her famous tavern immortalized her in history. blackhistoryminidocs.com

R.I.P. to legendary singer, actor, and activist, King #HarryBelafonte who has passed away at age 96 on April 25, 2023. Bellafonte was instrumental in gathering some of Hollywood's greatest stars to support Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent campaign for Civil Rights.

Basketball player legend, actor, and Christian minister, Meadowlark Lemon was born April 25, 1932. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Harlem Globetrotters and was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. blackhistoryminidocs.com

Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917. She was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. More at: blackhistoryminidocs.com

#GranvilleTWoods, born on April 23, 1856, was an inventor who made key contributions to the development of a telephone transmitter, a trolley wheel, and the multiplex telegraph of which he defeated a lawsuit by Thomas Edison to appropriate his invention.

Double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader the great Charles Mingus Jr. was born on April 22, 1922. #CharlesMingus was major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest #jazz musicians and composers in history.

James McCune Smith born on April 18, 1813 was a physician, apothecary, abolitionist and author in New York City. He was the first Black person to hold a medical degree and graduated at the top in his class at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. blackhistoryminidocs.com

Born on April 17, 1914, Dovey J. Roundtree’s 1955 victory before the Interstate Commerce Commission was an important bus desegregation case before Rosa Parks. It resulted in the first repudiation of the “separate but equal” doctrine in the field of interstate bus trans.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, arguing that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. blackhistoryminidocs.com/martin-luther-…

Charles Richard Patterson and Sons were the first and only Black Automobile Company in U.S. history. Born enslaved in Virginia on April 16, 1833, C.R. Patterson escaped, traveling over the Allegheny Mountains, through West Virginia and across the Ohio River.

Marie M. Daly was a biochemist born on April 16, 1921. She becoming the first African American woman to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry in the U.S. Daly's groundbreaking work helped clarify how the human body works. blackhistoryminidocs.com @neemrick @Liveisdaone @BlackHistoryMD

Branch Rickey, club president and general manager signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 which broke the baseball color line. Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award also in 1947. Blackhistoryminidocs.com

Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith born on April 15, 1894. She began to sing at a young age and in 1923 signed a contract with Columbia Records. She was among the highest-paid black performers of her time with hits like "Downhearted Blues." blackhistoryminidocs.com

#LucyCraftLaney born on April 13, 1854 was an educator who in 1883 founded the first school for black children in Augusta, Georgia. blackhistoryminidocs.com @neemrick @BlackHistoryMD

Jane Bolin born on April 11, 1908 was a pioneer for women of color in the legal world. Bolin applied to and became the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. More at blackhistoryminidocs.com @neemrick @Liveisdaone @BlackHistoryMD

Poet, abolitionist, and political activist James Monroe Whitfield born on April 10, 1822 was a notable writer and activist in abolitionism and African emigration during the antebellum era. He published the book America and other Poems in 1853.

Our future is in good hands #JustinJones and #JustinPearson #HistoryNow #BHMD Art By: #ReedRMcCants blackhistoryminidocs.com

Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, Queen #CarmenMcRae born on April 8, 1920 is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics. Art: #reedrmccants #BHMD blackhistoryminidocs.com