Calvin Lockhart: The Original "Biggie Smalls"
Bahamian-born Calvin Lockhart first caught moviegoers' attention in the supercharged urban films "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and...
Phyllis Hyman: The Sophisticated Lady
Deep-voiced and statuesque, Phyllis Hyman sang with a life-affirming energy and emotional intensity found in few other female vocalists....
Hazel Scott: The First Black Woman To Have Her Own TV Show
She was called the “Darling of Café Society” back in 1939 when New York City was alive with the sounds of swing. A sexy siren sitting...
Harlem Jazz Queen Florence Mills: The "Queen of Happiness," Harlem's "Blackbird&q
On this date {January 25] in 1896 Florence Mills was born. She was an African American singer, dancer. From Washington D.C., she was...
Fierce! Dr. Pearl Primus: Anthropologist, Choreographer and Pioneer of Modern African American Dance
Internationally famous choreographer, dancer, anthropologist, Dr. Pearl Eileen Primus (1919-1994) was hailed by critics as "...one of the...
Flashback: The Voices of East Harlem
In a current landscape of rampant unemployment in the wake of a global economic melt-down, the BP oil spill marking the worst...
Judith Jamison: The Human Body as Song
Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr....
Afro-Brazilian Ballerina Ingrid Silva Finds Success in New York
At the age of eight, Ingrid Silva already knew what path she wanted to follow. As a child, with her mother’s encouragement, she entered...
Billy Strayhorn: His Lush Life
Within his own milieu, he was admired for his keen intellect, his generosity of spirit, his Auntie Mame-like zest for life and his...
James Brown, 'Live at the Apollo' Voted No. 1 of '50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time
King Records founder Syd Nathan declined to jump on James Brown's idea of a live album — they hadn't been established as a profitable...
