The Arts
James Arthur Baldwin
August 2, 1924 to November 30, 1987 |
Novelist, writer, poet and civil rights activist. James Baldwin was born 1924 in Harlem, NY to Emma Jones, an unwed mother. She married David Baldwin, a factory worker and Pentecostal preacher who adopted her son. Baldwin grew up with seven half siblings in the home. His stepfather, a strict and domineering man tainted much of Baldwin’s childhood with anger and frustration. He used reading as a means of escape. While attending Frederick Douglass Junior High School Baldwin edited the school newspaper and belonged to the literary club. Advisor to the club was Harlem Renaissance poet, Contee Cullen. At the age of 14 Baldwin worked as a junior minister in a Harlem storefront church attracting crowds larger than his stepfather’s. Three years later, he left the church and Christianity. By the time he was 17, Baldwin moved to Greenwich Village, in New York, an area known for artists, writers and musicians. He began writing short stories, essays and book reviews, many of them published in his book Notes of a Native Son. During the winter of 1944-1945, Baldwin met Richard Wright who became his mentor. Wright recommended him for the Eugene Faxton Fellowship that he won in 1945. Baldwin began to recognize his own homosexuality. Disillusioned by American prejudice against blacks and homosexuals, in 1948, he was awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship and used the money to buy a one way ticket to Paris, France. While there, he became friends with French philosopher and writer Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and fellow American expatriate writers Saul Bellow, Truman Capote, Richard Wright and American Modernist Painter Beauford Delaney. Throughout his adult life, Baldwin spoke out against racism in America. During the 1960’s he could often been seen on TV criticizing racial injustice and its mistreatment of Blacks in America. James Baldwin died of stomach cancer in 1987 in Paris, France. Baldwin’s writings include: 1953 (Semi-Autobiographical Novel) Go tell it on the Mountain
1954 (Play) Amen Corner
1955 (Essay) Notes of a Native Son
1956 (Novel) Giovanni’s Room
1961 (Essays) Nobody knows my Name
1962 (Novel) Another Country
1963 (Essays) Fire Next Time
1964 (Play) Blues for Mr. Charlie
1965 (Short Stories) Going to Meet the Man
1968 (Novel) Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone
1972 (Essays) No Name in the Street
1974 (Novel) If Beale Street Could Talk
1976 (Essays) The Devil Finds Work
1979 (Novel) Just Above My Head
1985 (Essays) The Price of the Ticket: Collected Nonfiction
1985 (Essays) The Evidence of Things Not Seen
PICTURES: L: James Baldwin. R: Grave marker. Video: James Baldwin interview, pt.1
INTERRED: Ferncliff Cemetery 280-284 Secor Road, P.O. Box 217, Hartsdale, NY 0530. Phone: 914-693-4700. Map of cemetery.SUBMITTED: May 25, 2009. Pictures taken May 24, 2009.
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John William "Trane" Coltrane
September 23, 1926 to July 17, 1967 |
Considered by many to be the world's greatest jazz saxaphonist, composer and bandleader.
PICTURES: Top L: John and Alice Coltrane, cover art from the album Coltrane for Lovers . Top R: Grave marker for John Coltrane and his wife Alice Coltrane. Second Row L: Gravestone. Second Row R: Gravestone side view. Video: The John Coltran Quartet, (John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones). Song Title: Alabama. Video: John Coltrane interview 1960.
INTERRED: Pinelawn Memorial Park, Pinelawn Road and Wellwood Avenue, Farmingdale, New York SUBMITTED: May 28, 2009. Pictures taken May 24, 2009.
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Miles Dewey Davis III
May 26, 1926 to September 28, 1991 |
Trumpet virtuoso and one of the innovators of hard bop and cool jazz.
PICTURES: Left: Miles Davis. Right: Gravestone. Video: Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Song Title: So What.
INTERRED: Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue & E. 233rd Street, Bronx, NY 10470. Phone: 718-920-0500, toll free: 877-496-6352.
SUBMITTED: May 25, 2009. Picture of gravestone taken May 23, 2009.
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Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
April 29, 1899 to May 24 1974 |
Composer, pianist, and bandleader. Considered one of the most influential figures in jazz.
PICTURES: First Row L: Duke Ellington. First Row R: The Ellington Family Plot. Second Row L: Duke's sister Ruth Ellington and brother-in-law, McHenry Boatwright. Second Row R: Parents James Edward Ellington and Daisey Kennedy. Third Row L: Duke Ellington. Third Row R: Long time companion Eve Ellis. Video: Duke Ellington. Song Title: Take the A Train.
INTERRED: Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue & E. 233rd Street, Bronx, NY 10470. Phone: 718-920-0500, toll free: 877-496-6352. SUBMITTED: May 30, 2009. Picture of gravestones taken May 23, 2009.
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Robert Johnson
May 8, 1911 to August 16, 1938 |
Written on the Robert Johnson Mississippi Blues Historical Marker are the words: A seminal figure in the history of the Delta blues, Robert Johnson (1911-1936) synthesized the music of Delta blues pioneers such as Son House with outside traditions. He in turn influenced artists such as Muddy Waters and Elmore James. Johnson’s compositions, notable for their poetic qualities, include the standards “Sweet Home Chicago and “Dust My Broom.” Johnson’s mysterious life and early death continued to fascinate modern fans. He is thought ot be buried in this grave.
PICTURES: Top: Robert Johnson. Picture of an image on Mississippi Blues Historical Marker. Bottom Left: Mississippi Blues Historical Marker. Bottom Right: Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery. The burial place of Robert Johnson.
INTERRED: Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Money Road, Greenwood, MS, 38930 SUBMITTED: Ocober 18, 2009. Pictures taken December 20, 2008.
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Canada Lee
Born Lionel Cornelius Canegata May 3, 1907 to May 9, 1952 |
Actor who pioneered roles for African Americans and a civil rights activist.
MOVIES: Cry My Beloved Country (1951), Lost Boundaries (1949), Body and Soul (1947), Lifeboat (1944), Keep Punching (1949)
PICTURES: Left: Canada Lee. Right: Gravestone.
INTERRED: Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue & E. 233rd Street, Bronx, NY 10470. Phone: 718-920-0500, toll free: 877-496-6352.
SUBMITTED: May 30, 2009. Picture of gravestone taken May 23, 2009.
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Thelonious Sphere Monk October 10, 1917 to February 17, 1982 |
Jazz pianist, composer, improvisationalist master and cofounder of bebop.
PICTURES: L: Thelonious Monk courtesy of Libray and Archives Canada. R: Grave marker of Thelonious Monk, his wife Nellie and daughter Booboo. Video: The Thelonious Monk Quartet, (Thelonious Monk - piano, Charlie Rouse - tenor sax, John Ore - bass and Frankie Dunlop - drums), in Baden-Baden Germany. Song Title: Off Minor
INTERRED: Ferncliff Cemetery 280-284 Secor Road, P.O. Box 217, Hartsdale, NY 0530. Phone: (914)-693-4700. Map of cemetery. SUBMITTED: May 28, 2009. Picture taken May 23, 2009.
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Maxwell Lemuel Roach January 10, 1924 to August 16, 2007 |
Jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.
PICTURES: L: Max Roach. R: Gravestone.
INTERRED: Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue & E. 233rd Street, Bronx, NY 10470. Phone: 718-920-0500, toll free: 877-496-6352. SUBMITTED: May 28, 2009. Picture taken May 23, 2009.
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Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson April 9, 1898 to January 23, 1976 |
Film and stage actor, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator, lawyer and singer.
PICTURES: Top: Paul Robeson photo by Gordon Parks. Bottom: Grave marker.
INTERRED: Ferncliff Cemetery 280-284 Secor Road, P.O. Box 217, Hartsdale, NY 0530. Phone: (914)-693-4700. Map of cemetery. SUBMITTED: May 28, 2009. Picture taken May 23, 2009.
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Pictures taken and submitted by Percy White unless otherwise indicated. African American History, African American Culture, African American Churches, African American Cemeteries, African American Schools, Places of Interest in African American History |