Surgeon and first African American female graduate of Harvard Medical School1991"> Dr. Mildred Jefferson is born in this year.

Minnie Buckingham-Harper becomes the first African American woman to serve in a United States legislative body when she is appointed to fill her recently deceased husband's seat in the1991"> West Virginia State Legislature.

Educator and daughter of1991"> Cab Calloway, Camay Murphy is born in New York City.

Entertainer1991"> Martha Jordan is born.

Former Phoenix, Arizona City Councilman1991"> Calvin Goode is born.

Abe Saperstein, Harlem Globetrotters manager, forms the all-black basketball team on this date. They begin their touring of the United States, and later the world. The team earns its nickname the1991"> “Clown Princes of Basketball” with their zany on-the-court antics.

Entertainer1991"> Ernie Mae Miller is born.

Entrepreneur1991"> John W. Barfield is born.

Richard Long is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Leontyne Price, world-renowned1991"> opera singer and Grammy Award winner, is born in Laurel, Mississippi. Although featured in many performances previously, the soprano virtuoso debuted at New York City's Metropolitan Opera in Verdi's Il Trovatore in 1961 and received a forty-two minute ovation for her outstanding performance. HistoryMaker William Warfield married Price in 1952 after starring opposite her in the lead of Porgy and Bess.

Entertainer and civil rights activist William1991"> “Bob” Bailey is born on this date in Detroit, Michigan.

Model and dancer1991"> Mildred Cruzat is born in Detroit, Michigan.

Educator Franes Hooks was born on this date in Memphis, Tennessee.

Harry Belafonte is born in1991"> New York City. Belafonte would work in nightclubs in the 40s and 50s before entering the limelight with a starring role in the 1954 film Carmen Jones. Belafonte is a widely celebrated singer, performer, activist and humanitarian.

The1991"> United States Supreme Court hands down its decision in Nixon v. Herndon, ruling that a Texas law that excludes blacks from voting in "white primaries" is unconstitutional.

Educator and civil rights activist Gloria Blackwell1991"> (Rackley) is born on this date in Little Rock, South Carolina.

Civil Rights Activist1991"> Joe Hendricks is born.

Community leader1991"> Harry Sykes is born in Starksville, Mississippi.

Architect1991"> Wendell Campbell is born in East Chicago, Indiana.

Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on this date in Marion, Alabama. She has promoted non-violent social change since her husband's death and was instrumental in making her husband's birthday a national holiday.

Geophysocost and seismologist Waverly Person is born in Blackenridge, Virginia.

Musician and educator1991"> Philip Cohran is born on this date in Oxford, Mississippi.

Portrait artist1991"> Artis Lane is born on this date.

Community resource specialist1991"> Dale Head Clinton is born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Scientist, inventor, and educator1991"> George Washington Carver patented his process for producing paints and stains on this date.

George Johnson is born in1991"> Mississippi. He will later found Johnson Products.

Carl B. Stokes is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He will go on to become the first black mayor of Cleveland.

David Dinkins, future mayor of1991"> New York City is born in Trenton, New Jersey.

Musician1991"> & Music Educator Luigi Waites is born.

College professor and educational consultant1991"> Sherman Beverly is born in Port Arthur, Texas.

Retied nurse and educator1991"> Nancy Bowlin is born on this date in Harlem, New York.

Black tennis pioneer Althea Gibson was born on this date in Silver, South Carolina. Gibson was the first African American to win the Wimbledon Singles Tennis Championship.

Singer1991"> & Nightclub Owner Lois Fisher is born.

Alderman and Judge1991"> William Cousins, Jr. was born in Swifton, Mississippi

Dorothy and DuBose Heyward's play, Porgy opened on Broadway on this date.

Liberation theologian1991"> Rev. Dr. Latta Thomas is born in Union, South Carolina.

Sociologist and desegregation expert1991"> Charles Vert Willie is born in Dallas, Texas.

Bishop John Hurst Adams is born on this date in Columbia, South Carolina.

Actor1991"> Robert Guillaume is born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri. He is best known for his role as Benson DuBois on the television sitcoms Soap and Benson.

Black nationalist1991"> Marcus Garvey was deported to Jamaica on this date by order of President Calvin Coolidge.

Educational administrator1991"> Barbara Sizemore is born in Chicago, Illinois.

The musical1991"> Showboat opened on this date at the Ziefield Theatre in New York City. Jules Bledsoe played the role of Joe in the musical, replacing Paul Robeson.