Black Excellence: O.W. Gurley

November 15, 2024

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.W._Gurley

O. W. Gurley (December 25, 1867 – August 6, 1935) was once one of the wealthiest Black men and a founder of the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as “Black Wall Street”.[1][2]

Ottaway W. Gurley was born in Huntsville, Alabama to John and Rosanna Gurley, formerly enslaved persons, and grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.[1]: 128  After attending public schools[1] and self-educating,[3] he worked as a teacher and in the postal service.[1]: 128 .[3] While living in Pine Bluff, Gurley married Emma Wells, on November 6, 1889. They had no children. In 1893, he came to Oklahoma Territory to participate in the Land Run of 1893, staking a claim in what would be known as Perry, Oklahoma.[3] The young entrepreneur had just resigned from an appointment under president Grover Cleveland in order to strike out on his own.”[4] In Perry he rose quickly, running unsuccessfully for treasurer of Noble County at first, but later becoming principal at the town’s school and eventually starting and operating a general store for 10 years.[3]

Black Excellence: Ella Josephine Baker

November 15, 2024

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Baker

Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. In New York City and the South, she worked alongside some of the most noted civil rights leaders of the 20th century, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored many emerging activists, such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, and Bob Moses, as leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).[1][2]

Black Excellence: Lonnie Shields

November 15, 2024

https://lonnieshields.com/biography

Lonnie Shields is truly one of the finest of the next generation of the blues. He cut his blues teeth performing with The Jelly Roll Kings. His recording career has led him through a number of studios from Memphis and Clarksdale to tours all over the world. This Delta born guitarist, singer and songwriter’s style is just the opposite of his demeanor. Lonnie comes across as a mild mannered southern gentleman with a laid back nature. On stage he is transformed into an extraordinary entertainer moving to his music and feeding off the energy of the audience. His music is deeply rooted in gospel, soul and R&B while his sound, like his soul is never too far from the home of the blues.

Black Excellence: Ella Jenkins

November 15, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/10/530876080/ella-jenkins-dead-at-100

Ella Jenkins, the first lady of children’s music, has died at 100

You may have grown up hearing one of Ella Jenkins’ signature tunes, like “You’ll Sing A Song and I’ll Sing A Song.” And you may have then played her music for your own children. Jenkins, who was known as “the first lady of children’s music,” died on Saturday at her residence in Chicago. She was 100.

Black Excellence: Baby Rose

November 15, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/10/803620275/baby-rose-tiny-desk-concert

“This is what real love sounds like.”

From any other new artist, a Tiny Desk declaration like that might sound a tad bit presumptuous if not altogether premature. But when the voice behind those words is as seasoned and vintage as Baby Rose’s, everything it utters reverberates like the gospel truth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Rose

Jasmine Rose Wilson (born August 5, 1994), known professionally as Baby Rose, is an American singer.[2][3] As of 2024, she is signed with the record label Secretly Canadian.[4]