Cassandra Boydston
Cassandra Boydston considers music and studying history to be her lifelong passions and vocations. She has combined the two while writing articles for Blackpast.org. Cassandra has been studying history at the University of Washington since 1999 while simultaneously working as a computer programmer. She hopes to be able to devote herself to studying and writing about history full time after graduation.
Articles by
Alphonse Trent Orchestra
Jazz arose in 19th century America from music brought from West Africa by slaves. It is therefore not surprising that...
Eubie Blake (1883-1983)
Eubie Blake was born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 7, 1883. He died one hundred years later...
Noble Sissle (1889-1975)
On July 10, 1889, the musician and lyricist, Noble Sissle, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, a minister and...
Carolynne Snowden (1900-1985)
Caroline Snowden (she later changed her first name to Carolynne), known as “California’s Josephine Baker,” was born on January 16th,...
Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969)
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born November 21, 1904, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. He began his musical education early with lessons...
Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990)
Sarah Louise Vaughan was born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey. Both of her parents were amateur musicians and they...
Clarence Muse (1889-1979)
On October 14, 1889, Clarence Edouard Muse was born to Alexander and Mary Muse in Baltimore, Maryland. Muse had intended...
The Creole Palace, San Diego, California (1924-1946)
The hallmarks of the “Roaring ‘20s” are legendary in American history: dashing and daring men and women, illegal alcohol, flamboyant...
Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)
In her five decades as a recording artist, Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul,” became a music legend. Aretha Louise Franklin was born...
Ntozake Shange (Paulette Williams) (1948-2018 )
The author, poet, and playwright Ntozake Shange was born Paulette Williams on October 18, 1948 in Trenton, New Jersey. Until she was eight,...
