John Gibbs St. Clair Drake was born in Suffolk, Virginia, on January 2, 1911. Later in life, including professionally, he went by his last name only, St. Clair Drake. His father immigrated to the United States from Barbados in the British West Indies, becoming a Baptist minister and an international organizer for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association.
John Gibbs St. Clair Drake was born in Suffolk, Virginia, on January 2, 1911. In his later years, professionally and personally, he used only his last name, St. Clair Drake. His father relocated from Barbados to the United States, where he became a Baptist minister and an organizer for Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association.