Category Archives: October

Ethel Waters

October 31, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Ethel Waters was born on October 31, 1896 (to September 1, 1977). She was an American blues, jazz, and gospel vocalist. As an actress, Waters was the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award, and the first Black woman to be nominated for an Emmy Award. Ethel Waters was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, a result of the rape of her mother, Louise Anderson, at age 13 by John Waters, a pianist and family acquaintance from a mixed-race […]

Categories: All, October, October 31, Waters, Ethel • Tags: 1896, 1977, Ethel Waters, October 31, September 1, Ubuntu Biography Project

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George M. Johnson

October 31, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

George M. Johnson was born on October 31, 1985. He is a journalist and HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ activist. George Matthew Johnson was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, one of four children of Gregory Johnson, a police officer (now retired), and Kaye Johnson, a beautician. When he was 14, Johnson started working at a summer camp in Plainfield, even as he grappled with his sexuality and fitting in. “As a young boy, I struggled with what I was feeling inside,” Johnson […]

Categories: All, Johnson, George M., October, October 31 • Tags: 1985, George M. Johnson, October 31, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Andy Bey

October 28, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Andy Bey was born on October 28, 1939. He is an accomplished pianist and jazz singer who is celebrated for his four-octave baritone voice. Andrew W. Bey grew up in Newark, New Jersey with seven sisters, and later recorded with two of them. He was exposed to jazz as a child, and started singing in front of local audiences as early as eight. At some gigs, he was accompanied by tenor sax great Hank Mobley. Bey was 13 years old […]

Categories: All, Bey, Andy, October, October 28 • Tags: 1939, Andy Bey, October 28, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Frank Ocean

October 28, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Frank Ocean was born on October 28, 1987. He is a Grammy Award-winning singer, rapper, composer, and celebrated performer. Born as Christopher Edwin “Lonny” Breaux in Long Beach, California, Frank Ocean is the son of Calvin Edward Cooksey and Katonya Breaux. His family includes a brother and one sister. When Ocean was around five years old, he and his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, which proved to have a profound effect on him as a child with its different […]

Categories: All, Ocean, Frank, October, October 28 • Tags: 1987, Frank Ocean, October 28, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Julius Eastman

October 27, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

[The references to “I” in this biography are Stephen Maglott, the original author] Julius Eastman was born on October 27, 1940 (to May 28, 1990). He was an accomplished composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer of minimalist tendencies. Julius Eastman grew up in Ithaca, New York, where he worked in his teen years as a paid chorister. He gained plenty of regional attention with his wonderful voice, and began his piano studies at age 14. After only six months of practice, […]

Categories: All, Eastman, Julius, October, October 27 • Tags: 1940, 1990, Julius Eastman, May 28, October 27, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Dennis Wamala

October 27, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Dennis Wamala was born on October 27, 1984. He is director of programs at IceBreakers Uganda (IBU), and a human rights activist who is passionate about the lives, livelihoods, and health of LGBTI people around the world. Wamala Dennis Mawejje was born in Kampala, Uganda. During his schooling, Wamala was active in clubs, and held several leadership positions. He attended Busoga College Mwiri in Jinja, Uganda, and received his bachelors of economics at Makerere University in Kampala. Wamala is inspired […]

Categories: All, October, October 27, Wamala, Dennis • Tags: 1984, Dennis Wamala, October 27, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Stephen A. Maglott

October 26, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Please visit the Legacy page for memories of Stephen, including a poem written for him by friend and Project honoree Tim’m T. West, and recollections from Karen Williams, the last person profiled by Stephen in the hours preceding his death. On the Press page, you can hear an interview on Michelle Brown’s radio blog program, “Collections,” with Aundaray Guess and Mark Zustovich discussing the continuation of the Ubuntu Biography Project in Stephen’s memory. Stephen wrote hundreds of biographies for the […]

Categories: All, Maglott, Stephen, October, October 26 • Tags: October 26, Stephen Maglott, Ubuntu Biography Project

Arthur Rhames

October 25, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Arthur Rhames was born on October 25, 1957 (to December 27, 1989). He was an extraordinary guitarist, tenor saxophonist, pianist, melodica stylist, Krishna devotee, and a legend of New York City’s avant-garde jazz scene. Arthur Rhames was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to Arthur Rhames, Sr. and Laverne Ashley. He was raised in East Flatbush, along with two younger brothers, William and Clarence, and his beloved grandmother, Margaret Ashley. At age nine, Rhames took up piano and listening to classical music. […]

Categories: All, October, October 25, Rhames, Arthur • Tags: 1957, 1989, Arthur Rhames, December 27, October 25, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Stan Brown

October 25, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Stan Brown was born on October 25, 1962. He is a widely respected educator, actor, voice and dialect coach, vocalist (since the age of three), recording artist, and stage director. Stan Brown was born in Walterboro, South Carolina to Dan Brown, Jr., who served in the Navy during World War II (Philippines) and was a general factotum at DuPont, and his mother, Mattie Stokes Brown, a career educator and community leader. He has one older sibling, Lerna Brown, a retired, multiple award-winning educator and published poet. Brown attended Jenkins Hill […]

Categories: All, Brown, Stan, October, October 25 • Tags: 1962, October 25, Stan Brown, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Sean Sasser

October 25, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Sean Sasser was born on October 25, 1968 (to August 7, 2013). He was an educator, HIV/AIDS activist, mentor, pastry chef, and groundbreaking reality television star best known as the partner of fellow activist Pedro Zamora on the third season of MTV’s “The Real World.” Sean Franklin Sasser was born in Detroit, Michigan to Patricia (Pat) Robinson Sasser, the daughter of a minister, and an Army sergeant dad. Sasser’s parents divorced when he was six, and his father was mostly […]

Categories: All, October, October 25, Sasser, Sean • Tags: 1968, 2013, August 7, October 25, Sean Sasser, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Dr. Dereck D. Barr-Pulliam

October 24, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Dr. Dereck D. Barr-Pulliam was born on October 24, 1978. He is an assistant professor of accounting at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a passionate scholar, volunteer, motivator, teacher, and an activist. But, most importantly, he is a father. Dereck D. Barr-Pulliam was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He has two brothers and two sisters, and attended Oxford High School, in Oxford, Mississippi, graduating in 1997. Following high school, he enrolled at The University of Mississippi, where he obtained his […]

Categories: All, Barr-Pulliam, Dereck, October, October 24 • Tags: 1978, Dr. Dereck Barr-Pulliam, October 24, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Kye Allums

October 23, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Kye Allums was born on October 23, 1989. As a college basketball player, Allums was the first openly trans NCAA Division I athlete, and is a gender inclusion specialist, artist, coach, and Black queer fluid transgender person of color committed to LGBTQ activism. Kye Allums was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, the oldest of four children. His mother, Rolanda DelaMartinez, emphasized the need for academics in addition to encouraging athletics; his father left the family when Allums was just five […]

Categories: All, Allums, Kye, October, October 23 • Tags: 1989, Kye Allums, October 23, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Jasmyne Cannick

October 22, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Jasmyne Cannick was born on October 22, 1977. She is a respected and nationally known LGBTQ advocate, writer, commentator, and public speaker, best known for her work at the intersection of race, politics, class, and sexual orientation and identity. She was honored as one of “Essence” magazine’s 25 Women Shaping the World, one of the Most Influential African Americans in Los Angeles Under 40, one of Los Angeles’ Most Fascinating Angelenos by “LA Weekly,” and “The Advocate” named her as one […]

Categories: All, Cannick, Jasmyne, October, October 22 • Tags: 1977, Jasmyne Cannick, October 22, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Anthony Antoine

October 21, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Anthony McWilliams, known professionally as Anthony Antoine, was born on October 21, 1969. He is a popular performance poet, community activist, singer/songwriter, HIV educator, author, and recognized trailblazer in the LGBTQ music scene who recorded his first out and proud song in 1997, and his first independently released out music project, “Dante’s Got a Man Too,” in 1999. Anthony Antoine McWilliams was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Chester Sanders and Marjorie McWilliams. He was raised with his brother Eric McWilliams, and has a sister, Nadine Coleman. McWilliams […]

Categories: All, Antoine, Anthony, McWilliams, Anthony Antoine, October, October 21 • Tags: 1969, Anthony Antoine, Anthony Antoine McWilliams, October 21, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Gareth Henry

October 20, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Gareth Henry was born on October 20, 1977. He is an LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS, and social justice activist who fled to Toronto, Canada after experiencing homophobic violence and threats in his native Jamaica. Gareth Boyd Henry was born in St. Mary’s, a small town on the northern coast of Jamaica, to an absentee father with whom Henry has had no relationship, and a mother who was in her teens when he was born. While Henry’s sister was primarily raised by their […]

Categories: All, Henry, Gareth, October, October 20 • Tags: 1977, Gareth Henry, Jamaica, October 20, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Laurence E. Pinckney

October 19, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Laurence E. Pinckney was born on October 19. He is a New York City-based real estate broker, travel agent, and mentor. Pinckney also produced more than 350 concerts for some of the legends of the music business. Laurence E. Pinckney is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of a preparatory high school and Clark University, where he obtained his multi-discipline Bachelor of Art degree in Business, Sociology, and Theater Arts. Pinckney worked in the corporate world after college, but he felt […]

Categories: All, October, October 19, Pinckney, Laurence E. • Tags: Laurence E. Pinckney, October 19, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Abubakar Sadiq Yussif

October 19, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Abubakar Sadiq Yussif was born on October 19, 1985 (to December 11, 2017). He was an openly gay Muslim in Ghana, a spiritual leader, and advocate for sexual health education and prevention. Abubakar Sadiq Yussif was a graduate of Koforidua Polytechnic & University of Ghana in Legon. He is the co-founder of the Solace Initiative in Ghana, an organization that focuses on the sexual health of men who have sex with men (MSM) and other key populations. Sadiq previously worked […]

Categories: All, October, October 19, Yussif, Abubakar Sadiq • Tags: 1985, 2017, Abubakar Sadiq Yussif, December 11, October 19, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa

October 18, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Buganda (within present-day Uganda) on October 18, 1884, following the death of his father, King Muteesa I. He was the 31st Kabaka (King) of Buganda, and reigned from 1884 until 1888, and again from 1889 until 1897. Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa was born at Nakawa (in present day Kampala, Uganda) in 1868. His father, Muteesa I of Buganda, reigned between 1856 and 1884. His mother was […]

Categories: All, Mwanga, Danieri Basammula-Ekkere, October, October 18 • Tags: 1884, 1903, Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa, May 8, October 18, Ubuntu Biography Project, Uganda

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Tarell Alvin McCraney

October 17, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Tarell Alvin McCraney was born on October 17, 1980. He is an Oscar-winning screenwriter, playwright, and actor who was the recipient of the first New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award for “The Brother/Sister Plays.” Tarell Alvin McCraney grew up amid poverty and uncertainty in Miami, Florida’s Liberty City neighborhood. His father left home early on, and his mother reportedly battled crack addiction, and died from AIDS-related complications when he was 22. McCraney pursued magnet drama programs at the Charles Drew, […]

Categories: All, McCraney, Tarell Alvin, October, October 17 • Tags: 1980, October 17, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Howard Rollins

October 17, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Howard Rollins was born on October 17, 1950 (to December 8, 1996). He was stage, film, and television actor, best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the 1981 film, “Ragtime,” for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Rollins also had a successful career on television as Virgil Tibbs on the television series, “In the Heat of the Night,” and on daytime’s “Another World,” for which he received an Emmy nomination. Howard Ellsworth […]

Categories: All, October, October 17, Rollins, Howard • Tags: 1950, 1996, December 8, Howard Rollins, October 17, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Yolo Akili Robinson

October 14, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Yolo Akili Robinson, known as Yolo Akili, was born on October 14, 1981. He is the executive director and founder of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective), an organization named after Joseph Beam, the prolific Black gay activist. Yolo was born Michael Todd Robinson Jr., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Michael Robinson, a soldier, and Patricia Robinson, a department store manager. Because his father served in the military, Yolo lived in many places as a child, however most of […]

Categories: All, October, October 14, Robinson, Yolo Akili • Tags: 1981, October 14, Ubuntu Biography Project, Yolo Akili Robinson

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Bryan Epps

October 13, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Bryan Epps was born on October 13, 1982. He is an accomplished advocate, social justice activist, community builder, and entrepreneur. Bryan Matthew Charles Epps was born on in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Mark Cobb Epps Jr., a graduate of Cook College, Rutgers University, and Rutgers Business School, where he received his master’s in business administration. Mark Epps was recruited by the City of Newark, New Jersey, to advise Ken Gibson, the city’s first Black mayor, and the first […]

Categories: All, Epps, Bryan, October, October 13 • Tags: 1982, Bryan Epps, October 13, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Rashad Robinson

October 13, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Rashad Robinson was born on October 13, 1978. He is a highly respected civil rights leader and human rights advocate, a blogger, author, and current executive director of Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Rashad Robinson was born in Riverhead, Long Island, to Everett Robinson, a tile contractor and entrepreneur, and Shirley Robinson, a homemaker and business owner. Robinson attended Riverhead High School, and hosted a news talk shown on Cablevision’s public access channel. Following graduation […]

Categories: All, October, October 13, Robinson, Rashad • Tags: 1978, October 13, Rashad Robinson, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Rhone Fraser

October 12, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Rhone Fraser was born on October 12, 1979. He is widely respected literary critic, journalist, advocate, playwright, and academic. Dr. Rhone Fraser identifies himself as gay, Marxist, and Christian, “without contradiction.” Rhone Sebastian Fraser was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican immigrant parents. His mother is a registered nurse, and his father is a pharmaceutical manager. Fraser’s family moved to White Plains, New York, when Lederle Pharmaceuticals hired his father. Fraser’s mother read to him as a child, and later told him he […]

Categories: All, Fraser, Rhone, October, October 12 • Tags: 1979, October 12, Rhone Fraser, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Larry Benjamin

October 11, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Larry Benjamin was born on October 11, 1959. He is the author of three novels, a collection of short stories, and a novella—all with a gay focus. Benjamin was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx to Ray Benjamin, who was a carpenter, and his mother, Kathleen, a schoolteacher. He attended P.S. 130, P.S. 138, P.S. 131, and Adlai Stevenson High School, where he graduated in 1977. Following high school, Benjamin enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, […]

Categories: All, Benjamin, Larry, October, October 11 • Tags: 1959, Larry Benjamin, October 11, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Maurice Mjomba

October 10, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Maurice (Morris) Mjomba was born on October 10, 1982 (to July 27-30, 2012). He was a Tanzanian HIV/AIDS coordinator, human rights activist, and a founding member of Stay Awake Network Activities (SANA). Mjomba was a coordinator at the Centre for Human Rights Promotion (CHRP) as well as a leading activist in Stay Awake Network Activities (SANA), an organization in Tanzania dealing with sexual health awareness for men who have sex with men. He was one of the founding members of […]

Categories: All, Mjomba, Maurice, October, October 10 • Tags: 1982, 2012, July, Maurice Mjomba, October 10, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Nona Hendryx

October 9, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Nona Hendryx was born on October 9, 1944. She is a celebrated American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, children’s book author, and actress. Hendryx is best known as part of the hit trio Labelle. Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art rock, gospel and world music. Nona Hendryx was born in Trenton, New Jersey; her heritage is West African on her mother’s side, Ethiopian and Native American on her father’s, “and some Scottish.” […]

Categories: All, Hendryx, Nona, October, October 09 • Tags: 1944, Nona Hendryx, October 9, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Jonathan W. Jones

October 8, 2017 by The Altruistic Dissenter

Jonathan W. Jones was born on October 8, 1986. He is an author, economist, and political advocate who ran for Atlanta City Council. Jonathan W. Jones was born in Summit, New Jersey to Johnnie and Sylvia Jones. He attended Plainfield High School, and graduated in 2004. Following high school, Jones enrolled at Rutgers University, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in marketing, followed by enrollment at UCLA’s graduate school to pursue a Masters of Public Policy. He also studied at […]

Categories: All, Jones, Jonathan W., October, October 08 • Tags: Jonathan Jones, October 8, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Althea Garrison

October 7, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Althea Garrison was born on October 7, 1940. When she was elected as a Republican to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1992, Garrison became the first trans person elected to a state legislature in the United States. Althea Garrison was born in Hahira, Georgia, attending Hahira High School before relocating to Boston to attend beauty school. She went on to receive an associate’s degree at Newbury Junior College. Later, she earned a bachelor’s degree in administration from Suffolk University, […]

Categories: All, Garrison, Althea, October, October 07 • Tags: 1940, Althea Garrison, October 7, Ubuntu Biography Project

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Michelle Brown

October 3, 2017 by Ubuntu Biography Project

Michelle Brown was born on October 3. She is a public speaker, community activist, author/writer, LGBTQ advocate, poet/spoken word artist, and blog talk radio host. Michelle Elizabeth Brown was born in Detroit, Michigan, to George Brown, a city employee, and Mary Brown, who worked for Uniroyal and Comerica Bank. She has a brother, Eric, and sister, Tanagra. Brown, who describes herself as a “book nerd” while growing up, attended St. Bernard Catholic School and St. Rose of Lima Catholic School […]

Categories: All, Brown, Michelle, October, October 03 • Tags: Michelle Brown, October 3, Ubuntu Biography Project

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