Celebrate Black History Zora Neale Hurston American Zora

Celebrate Black History!

Zora Neale Hurston - American Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She Folklorist was a writer and anthropologist during the Harlem Renaissance. Her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was published in 1937. In a time when black culture and heritage was not yet celebrated, Hurston used her writing to draw attention to places of historical significance, like Eatonville, FL, the first incorporated all-black city in the nation. Zora died poor and alone in Ft. Pierce, Florida, but interest in her writing was revived by fellow author Alice Walker in 1975. Since then, new editions of her books have been published and her accomplishments are appreciated by a new generation. https: //youtu. be/Gj. U 1 f-n. F 5 R 0

Kobe Bryant - Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant spent his early years in Italy and joined the NBA straight out of high school. Bryant won five NBA championships and the 2008 MVP Award with the Los Angeles Lakers. He surpassed Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA all-time scoring list in December 2014 and retired in 2016 after scoring 60 points in his final game. In 2018, Bryant earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball. On January 26, 2020, he was in a helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his 13 -year-old daughter Gigi and seven others.

Nat and Cannonball Adderley - Jazz Musicians Julian and Nat Adderley were born in Tampa, FL in 1928 and 1931 respectively. They moved to Tallahassee, where their parents taught at Florida A & M. Nat began playing trumpet in 1946 and Julian, known as "Cannonball" played the alto saxophone. They played with Ray Charles in the early 1940 s in Tallahassee. Cannonball rose to higher fame than his brother, but died in 1975. Nat Adderley toured Europe, Japan, and the US, and taught music courses at Harvard. Nat is remembered as one of the most prolific jazz artists of his time, recording nearly 100 albums. https: //youtu. be/s 4 r. XEKt. C 8 i. Y

Titus Kaphar - American Painter Titus Kaphar was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1976 and is an American painter. His first art history class was at a community college and he taught himself to paint by visiting museums. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University. Kaphar creates paintings, sculptures, and multi-dimensional works of art that draw attention to African-American subjects. Many of his pieces reconfigure existing painting to draw the eye to the slaves and servants in the background who may have been previously ignored. His artwork is featured in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and many others. https: //www. ted. com/talks/titus_kaphar_can_art_amend_history? utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshar e

George Edwin Taylor - First Black Presidential Candidate In 1972, Shirley Chisholm ran for president of the United States, but George Edwin Taylor was actually the first black presidential candidate. In 1904, Taylor ran for president as the candidate Arkansas and was the son of a slave father and free mother. He attended the Baptist Academy in Wisconsin but left a year before graduating due to poor health and the need for a job. He took a job as a report and eventually became the editor of the La Crosse Evening Star newspaper. He became politically active and ran for president when he and others felt that Theodore Roosevelt was not doing enough for the rights of black people. While he only gained 2, 000 votes, George Edwin Taylor made history. https: //youtu. be/2 z 13 Hs. Bpp 3 I