1931 The Americas

The Americas

Belize

*A hurricane struck British Honduras, killing about 2,500 people (September 10).

Brazil

*About 50 workmen were killed when 1,000 tons of airplane bombs exploded in a naval laboratory near Niteroi, Brazil (April 30).

*In Sao Paulo, composer Heitor Villa-Lobos presented the first of his Civic Exhortations, performed by 12,000 voices.

*Fernando Henrique Cardoso (also known by his initials FHC), a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as President of Brazil from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 2003, was born in Rio de Janeiro (June 18). Cardoso was the first President of Brazil to have been re-elected for a subsequent term. 

Fernando Henrique Cardoso (b. June 18, 1931, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was descended from wealthy Portuguese immigrants. Some of his ancestors were politicians during the Empire of Brazil. Cardoso was also of Black African descent, through a Black great-great-grandmother and a COTW great-grandmother.

An accomplished scholar, Cardoso was awarded in 2000 with the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Cardoso lived in Sao Paulo for most of his life. Educated as a sociologist, he was a Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Universidade de Sao Paulo.  He was President of the International Sociological Association (ISA), from 1982 to 1986. Cardoso was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and was an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the author of several books.
He was also Associate Director of Studies in the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris and then visiting professor at the College de France and later at the Paris-Nanterre University.  He later lectured at United Kingdom and United States universities including Cambridge University, Stanford University, Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley.  Cardoso was fluent in four languages: Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish.
After his presidency, Cardoso was appointed to a five-year term (2003–2008) as professor-at-large at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, where he later became a member of the board of overseers. Cardoso was a founding member of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy's Advisory Board.  In February 2005, he gave the fourth annual Kissinger Lecture on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C. on "Dependency and Development in Latin America.  In 2005, Cardoso was selected by the British magazine Prospect as being one of the world's top one hundred living intellectuals.
Cardoso was married to Ruth Vilaca Correia Leite Cardoso until her death on June 24, 2008 and they had four children. 

Cardoso described himself as "slightly mulatto" and allegedly said he has "a foot in the kitchen" (a nod to 19th-century Brazilian domestic slavery). 

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*Breno Mello, an athlete and actor best known for playing Orfeu in the Academy Award winning film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil (September 7).
Breno Higino de Mello (b. September 7, 1931, Porto Alegre, Brazil – d. July 11, 2008, Porto Alegre, Brazil) was a Brazilian athlete and actor. He is primarily known for playing the title role in the 1959 film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus).

Mello was born in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, a state of Southern Brazil. In the beginning of his career, Breno Mello was a soccer player. He played soccer for Renner and Fluminense, and also for Santos FC, where he met Pele.  Mello was walking in Rio De Janeiro,  when director Marcel Camus stopped him and asked if he would like to be in a film. Camus cast Mello to star in the classic 1959 film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), in which Mello played the role of Orfeu. Camus was "fascinated" by Mello's physical beauty, which was an essential aspect of the character of Orfeu envisioned by Camus.

The film reinterpreted the Orpheus myth against the backdrop of the poverty of the Brazilian working class and Brazil's famous Carnaval. The film made extensive use of bossa nova music, including now famous songs such as "A Felicidade" and "Manha de Carnaval" (also known as "A Day in the Life of a Fool"), which were sung by the character of Orfeu. While Mello acted the part of Orfeu, his singing voice was dubbed by Agostinho dos Santos.

Orfeu was the most successful role of Mello's acting career. 

The film Orfeu Negro won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.  Mello was not part of the group representing the film for these awards.  However, more than 40 years later, Mello attended the Cannes festival at the expense of the Brazilian government, and with the invitation of the producers of the 2005 documentary "In Search of Black Orpheus" (Em Busca do Orfeu negro / À la recherche d'Orfeu Negro (Brasil/França, 2005)), by Bernard Tournois and René Letzgus.

Mello appeared in several other films, including Rata de puerto (1963), Os Vencidos (1963), O Santo Módico (1964), O Negrinho do Pastoreio (1973) and Prisoner of Rio (1988). However, Mello was unable to maintain regular employment as an actor so he returned to soccer.  

In 2004, Mello returned to film, appearing in the documentary In Search of Black Orpheus (in which he portrayed himself) to talk about the impact that the movie Black Orpheus had on the world of Brazilian music, such as Bossa Nova and samba. 

Mello also lived in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina,  where he met Amelina Santos Corrêa, also known as Mana. He had his youngest daughter, Letícia, with her. Mello died in his hometown of  Porto Alegre, Brazil at the age of 76 years on July 11, 2008, from a heart attack. His Black Orpheus co-star, American-born actress Marpessa Dawn (Eurydice), died 45 days later of a heart attack, in Paris, France. She was 74.

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*The famous Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro was dedicated (October 12).

Cuba

*A pipe bomb exploded inside a vent in the Cuban presidential palace, but no one was hurt (February 23).

*Cuban President Gerardo Machado survived the second attempt on his life within 24 hours when police seized a youth who attempted to draw a pistol while Machado was making a speech dedicating the new capitol (February 24).

*The Cuban government imposed censorship on four Havana papers for criticism of the Machado administration (June 25).

*Cuban President Gerardo Machado declared martial law to put down a rebellion (August 10)..

*Cuban revolutionary leaders Mario Garcia Menocal and Carlos Mendieta surrendered to authorities in Pinar del Rio Province (August 14).

*In a suburb of Havana at 2:20 in the morning, a large bomb exploded at the branch of the Royal Bank of Canada (September 1). The blast caused several thousand dollars worth of damage.

*The population of Cuba included 437,769 people of African descent, or 11% of the total population.

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Jamaica

*Roland Alphonso, a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites, was born in Havana, Cuba (January 12).

Roland Alphonso or Rolando Alphonso aka "The Chief Musician" (b. January 12, 1931, Havana, Cuba – d. November 20, 1998, Los Angeles, California) came to Jamaica at the age of two with his Jamaican mother, and started to learn saxophone at the Stony Hill Industrial School.

In 1948, he left school to join Eric Deans' orchestra and soon passed through other bands in the hotel circuit and first recorded as a member of Stanley Motta's group in 1952, going on to record frequently as a session musician. In 1956, he first recorded for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, although these early recordings were lost before they were mastered. By 1958, he was a part of the stage-act of comedians Bim and Bam, who toured Jamaica sponsored by "McAulay liquor". Alphonso's dynamic version of Louis Prima's "Robin Hood" was one of highlights of the act. Following this, Clement Dodd and Duke Reid made him a regular member of their in-house band of session musicians. In 1959, Alphonso joined the band of Cluett Johnson named Clue J & His Blues Blasters and backed many of Dodd's recording sessions in a typical Jamaican R&B style. He also acted as arranger at many of Dodd's recording sessions.

By 1960, he was recording for many other producers such as Duke Reid, Lloyd "The Matador" Daley and King Edwards, as well as continuing to work for Dodd, contributing alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, and flute to recordings. During this period he played in many different bands, such as The Alley Cats, The City Slickers, and Aubrey Adams & The Dew Droppers.  In 1963, after a few months spent in Nassau, Bahamas, he took part in the creation of The Studio One Orchestra, the first session band at Dodd's newly opened recording studio. This band soon adopted the name of The Skatalites.

When the Skatalites disbanded by August 1965, Alphonso formed the Soul Brothers (with Johnny "Dizzy" Moore and Jackie Mittoo).  The Soul Brothers would go on to become The Soul Vendors in 1967. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alphonso led the Ruinaires, the resident band at the Ruins restaurant/nightclub.  However, this stint came to an end when Alphonso suffered a stroke at the age of 41. He recovered quickly from this setback, and relocated to the United States in late 1972, soon returning to performing and recording.  Alphonso released the first album under his name in 1973 on the Studio One record label.

During the 1970s, ′80s, and ′90s, he kept on playing on numerous records coming out from Jamaican studios, especially for Bunny Lee, and he toured with many bands. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he played with the band Jah Malla, performing regularly on the live circuit around New York.

Alphonso was awarded Officer of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1977, and started to tour more often in the United States. He took part in the reformation of the Skatalites in 1983, with whom he toured and recorded constantly until he suffered a burst blood vessel (an aneurysm) in his head during a show at the Key Club in Hollywood on November 2, 1998. Alphonso died on November 20, 1998 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after suffering a second burst blood vessel, and spending four days in a coma.

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Marcus Garvey

*In April 1931, Marcus Garvey launched the Edelweiss Amusement Company. He set the company up to help artists earn their livelihood from their craft. Several Jamaican entertainers—Kidd Harold, Ernest Cupidon, Bim & Bam, and Ranny Williams—went on to become popular after receiving initial exposure that the company gave them.

*****

Saint Martin

*William H. Crogman, a pioneering African American educator in the United States, was born on the West Indian island of Saint Martin. 

William Henry Crogman (b. 1841 - d. 1931) was born on the West Indian island of Saint Martin in 1841.  At age 12, he was orphaned.  By age 14, he took to the sea with B.L. Bommer where he received an informal but international education as he traveled to such places as Europe, Asia, and South America. At the urging of Mr. Bommer, in 1868, he entered Pierce Academy in Massachusetts.  Throughout his schooling experience he was an exceptional and advanced student.  At Pierce, he was considered the top student as he mastered in one quarter what usually took students two quarters to complete.

In 1870, Crogman became an instructor at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Soon thereafter, Crogman returned to college, entering Atlanta University.  As a student of Latin at Atlanta University, he completed the four-year curriculum in three years. He graduated first in his class in 1876 and was appointed professor of classics at Clark College, another black institution in the city. 

Crogman started his lifelong career at Clark University serving in various capacities including as a faculty member, department chair, and the University’s first African American president from 1903-1910.  He was a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church three times and was the first African American to serve as one of the secretaries.  He had a widespread reputation as an eloquent speaker and was invited to speak from the pulpit of Henry Ward Beecher's church and before the National Teachers’ Association. Although he had a demanding schedule as a public servant serving as the first secretary of the Board of Trustees of Gammon Theological Seminary, on Clark University’s Board, and as the permanent chairman of the Board of Commissioners for all African Americans from all States, he also authored several books including Talks for the Times which was first published in 1896.  He is best known for two of his early histories of blacks, Progress of a Race and Citizenship, Intelligence, Affluence, Honor and Trust.  The last work was revised and published as The Colored American.

William Crogman died in 1931.  The William H. Crogman School in Atlanta is named for him. 

*****

Europe

France

*Paulette Nardal and the Haitian Dr. Leo Sajou initiated La revue du Monde Noir (1931–32), a literary journal published in English and French, which attempted to appeal to African and Caribbean intellectuals in Paris.

*Josephine Baker scored her most successful song, "J'ai deux amours".

Josephine Baker, original name Freda Josephine McDonald   (b. June 3, 1906, St. Louis, Missouri — d. April 12, 1975, Paris, France) was an American-born French dancer and singer who symbolized the beauty and vitality of black American culture, which took Paris by storm in the 1920s.

Baker grew up fatherless and in poverty. Between the ages of 8 and 10 she was out of school, helping to support her family. As a child, Baker developed a taste for the flamboyant that was later to make her famous. As an adolescent, she became a dancer, touring at 16 with a dance troupe from Philadelphia. In 1923 she joined the chorus in a road company performing the musical comedy Shuffle Along and then moved to New York City, where she advanced steadily through the show Chocolate Dandies on Broadway and the floor show of the Plantation Club.

In 1925 she went to Paris to dance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in La Revue Nègre and introduced her danse sauvage to France. She went on to become one of the most popular music-hall entertainers in France and achieved star billing at the Folies-Bergere, where she created a sensation by dancing semi-nude in a G-string ornamented with bananas. She became a French citizen in 1937. She sang professionally for the first time in 1930, made her screen debut as a singer four years later, and made several more films before World War II curtailed her career.

During the German occupation of France, Baker worked with the Red Cross and the Resistance, and as a member of the Free French forces she entertained troops in Africa and the Middle East. She was later awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour. with the rosette of the Résistance. After the war much of her energy was devoted to Les Milandes, her estate in southwestern France, from which she began in 1950 to adopt babies of all nationalities in the cause of what she defined as “an experiment in brotherhood” and her “rainbow tribe.” She retired from the stage in 1956, but to maintain Les Milandes she was later obliged to return, starring in Paris in 1959. She traveled several times to the United States to participate in civil rights demonstrations. In 1968 her estate was sold to satisfy accumulated debt. She continued to perform occasionally until her death in 1975, during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of her Paris debut.

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*Ada "Bricktop" Smith opened Bricktop's cafe in Paris.

Ada "Bricktop" Smith (b. August 14, 1894, Alderson, West Virginia - d. January 31, 1984, New York City, New York) was a vaudevillian, saloon entertainer, and nightclub owner whose clientele and friends included royalty, the wealthy, and the artistic elite.

Bricktop, born Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louisa Virginia Smith, was the third daughter and youngest of the five children of Thomas Smith, an African American barber, and Harriet ("Hattie") Elizabeth (Thompson) Smith. Her mother, seven-eighths white and of Irish descent, had been born a slave. Ada's lengthy name was an attempt to please many acquaintances. After her father died in 1898, the family moved to Chicago, where Hattie was a housekeeper and ran rooming houses. At the age of four or five, Ada made her stage debut in Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago. She attended Keith public school and appeared in shows there. She also was fascinated with the saloons on State Street. When she was fourteen or fifteen, Ada joined the chorus at the Pekin Theatre but was forced to return to school.

At age sixteen, Ada left school and began singing in vaudeville with Miller and Lyles. Later she toured the Theatre Owners' Booking Association and Pantage vaudeville circuits with McCabe's Georgia Troubadours, Ten Georgia Campers, the Kinky-Doo Trio, and the Oma Crosby Trio. The following year, in New York City, Ada met Barron Wilkins, the owner of Barron's Exclusive Club in Harlem; he nicknamed her "Bricktop" because of her flame-red hair. Later that year she performed at Roy Jones' saloon in Chicago and met the boxer Jack Johnson, for whom she worked at the Cabaret de Champion until it closed in 1912. Over the following years, she appeared in many saloons, including the Panama Club, where she, Florence Mills, and Cora Green were known as the Panama Trio.

In 1917 Bricktop left the trio and went to Los Angeles. While working at the Watts Country Club she met Walter Delaney. They lived together until Delaney's history of arrests for selling drugs, gambling, and promoting prostitution forced them to move to San Francisco during a crackdown on vice in Los Angeles. Rather than drag her down with him, Delaney left Bricktop in San Francisco. She later moved to Seattle.

In 1922 Bricktop convinced Barron Wilkins to hire Elmer Snowden's Washingtonians, with pianist Duke Ellington, for his New York City Club. In 1924 she performed at the Cafe Le Grand Duc in Paris. One of her first acquaintances there was a busboy and struggling author named Langston Hughes. Visitors to Le Grand Duc included Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fred Astaire, Ernest Hemingway, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, John Steinbeck, Josephine Baker, Elsa Maxwell, and Cole and Linda Porter. In 1925 Bricktop taught the Charleston at the Porters' lavish Charleston parties, and they introduced her to the Paris elite. In the fall of 1926, after returning from the Porters' palazzo in Venice, Bricktop opened the Music Box saloon in Paris. It closed the same year, and she then took over Le Grand Duc. Wanting a more chic place, before the end of 1926 she opened Bricktop's, where guests such as Jascha Heifetz, Duke Ellington, Noel Coward, the Prince of Wales, and Paul Robeson, gave impromptu performances.

In 1927 Bricktop met saxophonist Peter Duconge. They were married on December 19, 1929 and separated in 1933 but never divorced; they had no children. In 1931 Bricktop opened a bigger cafe, also named Bricktop's, with Mabel Mercer as her assistant. Following the custom of Montmartre cafes, Bricktop's closed for the summer; she opened another cafe during the summer in the resort of Biarritz. In 1934, the effects of the Great Depression forced her to move her cafe to a smaller location. By the fall of 1936 she could not afford to open for the season, so she and Mercer entertained at nightspots in Paris and Cannes.

From 1938 to 1939 Bricktop did radio broadcasts for the French government. In October 1939, at the insistence of the Duchess of Windsor and Lady Elsie de Wolfe Mendl, she fled the advancing war and returned to the United States, where she was reintroduced to American racial prejudice and segregation absent from her life in Paris. In New York City she worked at many cafes and attracted refugees from Paris. In 1940, when her following moved on, Bricktop helped open the Brittwood Cafe on 140th Street in Harlem. At first it was a success, drawing such celebrities and entertainers as Earl "Fatha" Hines, Anna Jones, Willie Grant, Minnie Hilton, and Robert Taylor. In 1943 Bricktop moved to Mexico City, where she lived for six years and was part owner of the Minuit and Chavez's clubs.

In 1949 Bricktop returned to Paris, and in May 1950 she opened a new Bricktop's on the Rue Fontaine. By Christmas it was closed. She then went to Rome, where in 1951 she opened Bricktop's on the Via Veneto, drawing Italian high society and royalty. While in Italy, Bricktop, who had converted to Catholicism in 1943, was involved with Catholic charity and fund-raising projects and became a friend of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.

On March 6, 1964 Bricktop announced her retirement from the nightclub business because of poor health--she had arthritis and a heart condition. She returned to Chicago in 1965 to live with her sister Blonzetta. After Blonzetta's death in 1967, Bricktop settled in New York City. In 1972 she made her only recording, "So Long, Baby," with Cy Coleman. She also worked with Josephine Baker, a longtime friend, who was attempting a comeback, in 1973. In the same year Bricktop made the film documentary Honeybaby, Honeybaby! In 1975 she was awarded an honorary doctor of arts degree by Columbia College in Chicago. She continued to perform, but made few *after 1979 because of declining health. In 1983, on her last birthday, she was presented with the seal of New York City and a certificate of appreciation by Mayor Ed Koch. Just a few months later Bricktop died in her sleep at her Manhattan apartment. More than 300 people attended her funeral at St. Malachy's Church in Manhattan. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

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