Today in Black History: May 16th
1930- Betty Carter Is Born
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer, famously remembered for her ability to “scat” melodically. Carter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory of Music in her native Michigan. Carter performed around the country in jazz clubs with artists such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, and Thelonious Monk.
In 1971 she released her first album on her own label, Bet-Car Productions.Her solo albums include Betty Carter (1953), Out There (1958), The Modern Sound of Betty Carter (1960), The Audience with Betty Carter (1979), and Look What I Got! (1988), which won a Grammy Award. Determined to encourage an interest in jazz among younger people, in April 1993 Carter initiated a program she called Jazz Ahead, an annual event at which 20 young jazz musicians spend a week training and composing with her. The National Endowment for the Arts named her a Jazz Master in 1992. In 1997 she was awarded a National Medal of Arts by U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton.
1966- Stokely Carmichael Named Chairman of SNCC
Stokely Carmichael born in Trinidad and Tobago, growing up in New York City, attended Howard University, where he became involved with student protest groups, including SNCC and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which organized the Freedom Rides in 1961. Carmichael participated in the Freedom Rides in an attempt to integrate a train and cafeteria in Jackson, Mississippi.
In 1965, Carmichael worked with the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in Alabama and the following year, Carmichael succeeded John Lewis as the chairman of SNCC, guiding the organization towards a more militant and pan-African stance.
Soon after Stokely Carmichael began to tout the slogan and philosophy of Black Power, publishing Black Power: The Politics of Liberation (1967), becoming more aligned with the Black Panthers.
1990- Sammy Davis Jr. Passes
Sammy Davis, Jr. born on December 8, 1925 in Harlem, New York, joined the Army, where he for the first time confronted racial prejudice. In the service he joined an integrated entertainment Special Services unit, and found that while performing the crowd often forgot the color of the man on stage.
After his discharge from the Army, Davis rejoined the Will Mastin Trio and soon became known in Las Vegas as the kid in the middle. Soon he was a headliner at the Frontier Casino for many years. Davis, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop became known as the Rat Pack after filming Ocean’s Eleven in 1960.
Davis had a long successful career which included Broadway performances, a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music and Comedy Special.
