This Week In Black History

Jet, Jan 10, 2000

January 7, 1891

Zora Neale Hurston, writer and major figure during the Harlem Renaissance, was born on this day in Eatonville, FL. She attended Howard University and Barnard College, where she was the first Black student to enroll. From there she traveled extensively and wrote. She recognized that southern folklore was an important art form, reminiscent of the traditional African storytellers. Her book Of Mules and Men was and still is one of the few to chronicle folk tales so thoroughly. Her most popular book is Their Eyes Were Watching God published in 1937. She died on Jan. 28, 1960.

January 7, 1995

Lenny Wilkens, coach of the Atlanta Hawks, became the all-time winningest coach in National Basketball Association history on this day surpassing Boston Celtics great Red Auerbach. A native of New York City, Wilkens honed his basketball skills during four years at Providence College. From there he went to the pros. During his 15-year playing career, he suited up for the Seattle Supersonics, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers, where in 1974 he served double duty as a player and a coach. He later became full-time coach for Portland, before being hired as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1977. He later headed the Cleveland team before arriving in Atlanta in 1993. Wilkens has been named one of the NBA's Top 10 coaches of all time and one of the Top 50 players in league history. He is the only person ever to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice as a professional--as a player and as a coach.