Eighty years ago this month on August 17, 1931–after a lovely day at the beach celebrating a friend’s birthday– A’Lelia Walker, my great-grandmother and namesake, died in Long Branch, New Jersey. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from…
Robert Lee Dunham, age 78, died on May 17, 2011 at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He was President and CEO of TCB Management Corporation. In 1972, Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from…
By Walter Rutledge Three Black Kings was the last dance and music collaboration between choreographer Alvin Ailey and composer/musician Duke Ellington. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Harlem World Magazine. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use. Please…
Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from…
I just spoke to friend and writer Claude Jay the other day and he told me that Paulette Gay, The Scarf Lady had died over the New Year’s holiday. In shock, I could only think about when I first met her after moving to Harlem from the West Coast. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for…
John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (pronounced /ɡɨˈlɛspi/; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Harlem World Magazine. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact…
By Tod Roulette In 1986, I was a fledging openly gay black man on an overwhelmingly white college campus in the Midwest. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Harlem World Magazine. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use.…
The deceased — in life he was a doorman — was on a gurney in the basement. He was naked, as wrinkled as a rhino, and face up on a sheet. Around him in the clammy room were the tools of his embalmer: the trocar that had emptied out his stomach, the scalpel that had…