1934

Illinois Democrat Arthur Mitchell defeated incumbent Republican Oscar De Priest in Chicago's First Congressional District, marking a historic shift of Black voters from the Republican Party to the New Deal coalition and becoming the first Black Democrat ever elected to the US House of Representatives.

Fats Waller launched his 'Fats Waller and His Rhythm' series for Victor Records in 1934, recording dozens of sides including 'Ain't Misbehavin',' 'Your Feet's Too Big,' and 'Honeysuckle Rose.' His wit, stride piano mastery, and showmanship made him one of America's most beloved entertainers.

Hughes's short story collection depicted white Americans' condescension, exploitation, and violence toward Black people with precise satirical irony. Fourteen stories — including 'Cora Unashamed' and 'Home' — exposed the hypocrisies of liberal patronage and Southern terror alike. Widely reviewed as a landmark.

Paige's extraordinary 1934 season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, in which he reportedly won 104 games against only 18 losses across all games, established him as the most celebrated pitcher in Black baseball and one of the most talented players ever seen on any field.

Baker starred in the lead role of Offenbach's operetta La Créole at the Théâtre Marigny, becoming the first Black woman to star in a major European opera house production. Her Paris career — spanning films, theater, and casino performances — made her the most famous Black entertainer in the world.

When the Apollo Theater in Harlem reopened under new management by Frank Schiffman, it transformed from a whites-only venue into Harlem's premier Black entertainment house, with its legendary Amateur Night competition becoming a crucial launching pad for Black musical talent including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and James Brown.

The defeat of Republican Congressman Oscar De Priest by Democrat Arthur Mitchell symbolized the mass migration of Black voters to the Democratic Party under FDR's New Deal, fundamentally reshaping American political alignments that persist to the present day.

A seventeen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald, planning to dance, was too nervous and instead sang, winning the Apollo's weekly amateur competition. Bandleader Benny Carter witnessed her performance and helped launch her professional career, beginning her ascent to become one of the most celebrated jazz vocalists in history.

The Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier, Baltimore Afro-American, and dozens of other Black newspapers achieved their peak Depression-era circulations, with the Courier reaching nearly 200,000 weekly readers. The Black press served as an alternative information system, labor market, and community forum for segregated America.

Economic boycott campaigns targeting white-owned businesses in Black neighborhoods that refused to hire Black workers spread from Chicago and New York to cities across the North in the mid-1930s, pioneering the consumer boycott as a civil rights tactic decades before the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Golden Gate Quartet formed in Norfolk and pioneered jubilee gospel quartet singing, blending tight harmonics with rhythmic drive that would directly influence doo-wop and rhythm and blues. Their radio broadcasts and recordings reached national audiences through the late 1930s.

After medical training at McGill University, Charles Drew pursued residency and graduate training that would lead to his revolutionary research on blood plasma preservation and blood banking. His work in the late 1930s and early 1940s would save countless lives in World War II.

Hughes's short story collection examined race relations from the perspective of Black characters navigating white patronage, racism, and condescension with irony and dignity. The book was praised by critics as among the finest short fiction of the Depression era.

First baseman Buck Leonard joined the Homestead Grays and formed with Josh Gibson what became known as the Black Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth combination, the most feared offensive duo in Negro Leagues history. The Grays would win nine consecutive Negro National League titles with Leonard as cornerstone.

The Golden Gate Quartet emerged from the African American gospel and jubilee quartet tradition, developing a percussive, rhythmic vocal style that bridged sacred music and proto-rhythm-and-blues. Their performances for President Roosevelt at the White House and at Carnegie Hall brought Black gospel music to national and international audiences.

At age sixteen, Lena Horne joined the chorus line at Harlem's Cotton Club, beginning a career that would make her one of the most celebrated entertainers and civil rights advocates of the twentieth century. Her Cotton Club years provided training under Duke Ellington and exposure to the top tier of Black musical talent in America.

Following the disappearance of founder Wallace Fard Muhammad, Elijah Muhammad assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam and built it into a durable institution with temples, schools, and businesses in cities across America, preaching Black self-determination and economic independence.

Boston-born writer Dorothy West launched Challenge, a literary magazine intended to revive and continue the creative energy of the Harlem Renaissance for a new generation of Black writers. The magazine published emerging and established voices and later evolved into New Challenge, reflecting West's commitment to keeping Black literary culture alive through the Depression.

Muse co-wrote and starred in Heywoman, one of the few instances of a Black actor having creative input into a Hollywood film in the early sound era. Muse was among the busiest Black character actors in Hollywood and used his position to advocate against demeaning stereotypes.

Still composed his first opera, Blue Steel, exploring Black American folk themes. He would go on to become the first Black composer to have an opera produced by a major American company (Troubled Island, 1949), and his 1930s work laid the creative foundation for this historic breakthrough.

Tampa Red became one of Bluebird Records' most prolific artists, recording hokum blues and city blues that sold widely in Black communities. His home on State Street in Chicago was an informal salon where Thomas Dorsey, Big Bill Broonzy, and dozens of other musicians gathered.

Douglas paints a four-panel mural cycle tracing Black history from Africa to the modern city.