Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was born January 2. He is a trombone player that fuses rock, jazz, pop, hip-hop and funk into his music. I had the opportunity/privilege to hear when he performed at one our library conferences in New Orleans. He was fabulous then and continues to be fabulous now.
He wrote two books about his life and career: https://www.tromboneshorty.com/books
John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 1915. He was an American historian who wrote primarily about American history. His classic and seminal work is:
Book: From Slavery to Freedom
Book: Mirror to America, his autobiography
Born January 1, 1915, John Henrik Clarke was a historian, professor, and Afrocentrist. He wrote and co-wrote many books on Africa and African history. Some of his more prominent works are:
Book 1: Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust
Book 2: African People in World History
Book 3: Who Betrayed the African Revolution?
Born December 30, 1928, guitarist and singer Bo Diddley transitioned from the blues to rock and roll. Two books about him:
Book 1: Bo Diddley: Living Legend
Book 2 (a children’s book): Bo Diddley Rock & Roll All Star
Cheikh Anta Diop was born December 29 in Senegal. He was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race’s origins and pre-colonial African culture. His seminal and classic book:
The African Origin of Civilization
Kwanzaa Principle Day 7: Imani Faith
Book 1: Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book 2: Reading While Black by Esau McCauley
Book 3: In My Grandmother’s House by Yolanda Pierce
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 