The Hoofers Club In Harlem, 1930’s
The Hoofers Club was an black entertainment establishment and dancers club hangout in Harlem, NY, in the early to mid twentieth century. Continue reading
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, 1878 – 1949
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949, was a pioneer and pre-eminent African-American tap dance performer since his childhood.Continue reading
The History Of The Harlem World Club, 1975-1985 (Video)
Today, the old Harlem World Club building is a Conway's on 116th and Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue), but it was also the place for the drugstore chain Woolworth. But more importantly, from 1978 to 1985, it was the home of the legendary disco, The Harlem World Club.Continue reading
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr In Harlem NY 1958
In 1958, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was still basking in the glory of his legendary triumph that ended the thirteen-month Montgomery bus boycott he had led: the U.S.Supreme Court’s 1956 decision to desegrate buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Continue reading
Harlem’s Drag Ball History (Video)
Numerous historians and cultural commentators have traced the origins of today's house ball scene to the notorious culture of Harlem drag balls in 1920's and 1930's New York.
Continue reading
Harlem’s Cicely Tyson And Miles Davis
Cicely Tyson was born (December 19, 1933) and raised in Harlem, New York by William Tyson and Theodosia Tyson. The photo above is from stunning couple in August 1968 attending the premiere of ‘The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter’ in New York City.Continue reading
‘Puttin On The Ritz’, Ode To Harlem, 1930 (video)
"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz, 1930. Continue reading
Jimi Hendrix in Harlem, 1965 (video)
After Jimi Hendrix’s discharge from the army, he earned his living as a traveling musician on the so-called Chitlin’ Circuit—the circuit of venues throughout the segregated South that booked black musicians.Continue reading
Hubert Harrison, “The Father Of Harlem Radicalism”
Hubert Henry Harrison, April 27, 1883 – December 17, 1927, was a West Indian-American writer, orator, educator, critic, and radical socialist political activist based in Harlem, New York.Continue reading
The Incredible Harlem Born, Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson (March 6, 1936 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive. Continue reading
The Harlem Black Fashion Museum Founded By Ms. Lois Alexander Lane
The historic The Black Fashion Museum was founded by Ms. Lois Alexander Lane in 1970, the museum was in a brownstone on West 126th Street (between Lenox and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.,), after founding the legendary Harlem Institute of Fashion in 1966.
Continue reading
Warren-Nash Motor Corporation In Harlem, 1927 (Photos)
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 1957 after the creation of American Motors Corporation.Continue reading
‘Mornin’ Fast Train From Memphis To Harlem,’ Miles Davis, 1969 (Video)
Miles Davis playing in Miles mode. Not sure of the Memphis to Harlem connection in the song, but we know he played at Cecil And Minton's Harlem, around the corner from the Lenox Lounge and he was married to actress and Harlemite Cicely Tyson in the early 1980's.Continue reading
Sufi Abdul Hamid, “Harlem’s Hitler,” 1903-1938
Sufi Abdul Hamid (born Eugene Brown) (January 6, 1903 in Lowell, Massachusetts - July 30, 1938) was an African-American religious and labor leader, and among the first African converts to Islam, accused of Anti-Semitism.Continue reading
Stephanie “Queenie” St. Clair, Queen Of The Harlem Racket
Stephanie St. Clair, 1886 – 1969, was a bookmaker in Harlem. Madam St. Clair was born of mixed French and African descent on Martinique.
Continue reading