June 29, 1919 – Lloyd Richards was born in Toronto Ontario, Canada. He was dean of Yale School of Drama from 1971 – 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus. An award winning theater director and actor, Richards’ many accomplishments included staging the original production of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” debuting on Broadway to standing ovations on March 11,1959. In 1984, he introduced August Wilson to Broadway in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” He took home two Tony Awards for “Fence” in 1987 for Best Direction of a Play and Best Play. The same year, he won Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play for the play. Richards died on June 29, 2006 in New York.
June 30, 1995 – Singer and actress Phyllis Hyman died that year. The iconic, yet unsung songstress is known for songs such as “Don’t Wanna Change the World,” “Living All Alone” and “I’m Truly Yours” and more. Hyman scored on the R&B charts with a remake of The Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly Wow!”. She graced fans with memorable albums, “Phyllis Hyman” (1977) “Somewhere in my Lifetime” (1978) “You Know How To Love Me” (1979) “Can’t We Fall in Love Again?” (1981) “Prime Of My Life” (1991) I Refuse To Be Lonely (1995). She performed on Broadway, musical “Sophisticated Ladies,” a tribute to Duke Ellington. Performing in the role for two years, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and winning a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer
July 1, 1961 – Olympic track and field star who won many gold medals, Carl Lewis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. His accomplishments have led to numerous accolades, including being voted “World Athlete of the Century” by the International Association of Athletics Federations and “Sportsman of the Century” by the International Olympic Committee, “Olympian of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Athlete of the Year” by Track & Field News in 1982, 1983, and 1984.
July 2, 1970 – English rapper and radio personality, Monie Love was born in Battersea, London. She is a well-respected figure in British hip hop, and made an impact with American hip-hop audiences as a protégé of Queen Latifah. She was a membership in the late-1980s and early-1990s hip-hop group Native Tongues. Love was one of the first BritHop artists to be signed and distributed worldwide by a major record label. Monie Love first gained critical and commercial notice in the United States in 1989 for her cameos on Latifah’s single “Ladies First” and De La Soul’s hit single “Buddy” and Tribe Called Quest. Love’s debut album, “Down To Earth,” spawned two Grammy-nominated hits, “Monie in the Middle”) and “It’s a Shame (My Sister)”. The album reached #26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Love occasionally appears as a radio host on “The Rickey Smiley Show” on show “Dish Nation” on FOX.
July 3, 1956 – Born in Baltimore, Montel Williams claim to fame was talk show “The Montel Williams Show” running from 1991 to 2008.
July 4, 1844 – Born in Greenbush, New York, Wildfire Lewis, aka Mary Edmonia Lewis was a sculptor who worked for most of her career in Rome, Italy. She was the first woman of African-American and Native American heritage to achieve international fame and recognition as a sculptor in the fine arts world. Her work is known for incorporating themes relating to Black people and indigenous peoples of the Americas into Neoclassical-style sculpture. She began to gain prominence during the American Civil War; at the end of the 19th century, she remained the only Black woman who had participated in and been recognized to any degree by the American artistic mainstream. In 2002, the scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Lewis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
Frederick Douglass delivered the speech “The Meaning Of The Fourth Of July For The Negro,” on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, N.Y. at the Corinthian Hall, which was an event held by the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
