Black Music Month originated in 1979. Jimmy Carter proclaimed the month of June as Black Music Month to celebrate the wonderful music, the achievements, births, important timelines, events and to remember those we lost.
1. Paul Laurence Dunbar
1872:Paul Laurence Dunbar was born. He was a poet & novelist and he also wrote lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’ the first musical written and performed entirely by African-Americans to appear on Broadway in 1903. He passed away at age 33 in 1906 of Tuberculosis. Dunbar was prolific, writing short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays as well as the poetry for which he became well known. He was popular with black and white readers of his day, and his works are celebrated today by scholars and school children alike.
