Home Articles posted by Jason

Joan Baez

Difference Makers
New York native Joan Baez is an accomplished American Folk singer, songwriter and social activist of Mexican and Scottish descent. Some of her most popular songs include ‘There But for Fortune and ‘Diamonds and Rust. Joan is known for using her music to express her social and political views.
Difference Makers

Marie Watt

She’s a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians and a much celebrated multidisciplinary artist. Marie Watt was the first Native American student to earn a MFA from Yale University School of Art. Her work is in the permanent collections of numerous institutions including the Smithsonian, Renwick Gallery and the Albright-Knox Gallery.
Difference Makers

Hattie Simmons Love

On June 18, 1947, while Jackie Robinson was making major headlines as the first African American to play Major League Baseball since the 1880’s, Hattie Simmons was quietly trailblazing new ground of her own. Without the lights, cameras and fanfare, Hattie Simmons earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, becoming the first African American […]
Difference Makers

Leonard Roy Harmon

Enlisted in the Navy June 1939. Due to the Navy’s racial segregation policy of assigning African-American menial jobs, Harmon was limited to serving as a mess attendant. Following his initial training, he reported for duty about the cruiser USS San Francisco (CA-38) later that year. In 1942, during Guadalcanal, the USS San Francisco came under […]
Charles Gordone, Actor & Playwright
Difference Makers

Charles Gordone

1925 – 1995 First African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Off-Broadway theatrical play, ‘No Place to Be Somebody,’ in 1970. The ground-breaking work follows Johnny Williams, an African-American owner of a Greenwich Village Bar, who attempts to out-wit a white mob syndicate. Charles was lauded for the play’s gritty language and
Difference Makers

Joy Harjo, Muscogee (Creek) Nation

In 2019, Joy became the first Native American to be named United States Poet Laureate and only the second in history to serve three terms. Born May 9, 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harjo is considered a key figure in the native American Literary Renaissance. In addition to poetry, Harjo has taught in several universities in […]
Difference Makers

Johnny Hartman

Born John Maurice Hartman on July 3, 1923 in Houma Louisiana. John Hartman held critical acclaim as a performer and recording artist. His velvet smooth voice was unmistakable, making him the only vocalist to record with renowned saxophonist John Coltrane as band leader. The collaboration, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman was recorded in 1963 and […]
Difference Makers

Carole Simpson

December 7, 1941 is not only etched in history for the attack on Pear Harbor, it’s also the birthday of news broadcast journalist, author Carole Simpson, the first African-American woman to anchor a national news broadcast. Carole began her career in Chicago on WCFL radio before moving to local television station WBBM and onto ABC […]