Danny Lyon Scarborough made his mark in the world in two arenas, as an innovative, Emmy Award-winning choreographer/dancer, and as one of the first well-known African Americans to go public about having AIDS. Born on July 27, 1947, he grew up on a farm near Wake … Read MoreDanny Scarborough (1947-1989)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Vanoye Aikens was a star dancer and choreographer for the famous Katherine Dunham Dance Company. The Dunham Company popularized African American dance and pioneered the Dunham Technique, which combined Caribbean and African dance with European ballet. A native of Georgia, Aikens … Read MoreVanoye Aikens (1917-2013)
Sandra “Sandy” Maria Cane was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the younger of two daughters of an African American father, a US Army paratrooper during World War II, and an Italian mother, whose family had established a stonemason business in northern France. At age 10, in … Read MoreSandy Cane (1961- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Rennie Harris, hip hop dancer, artist, teacher, artistic director, choreographer, and founder of Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1963. At the age of 15, Harris began teaching workshops and classes at universities around the country, educating … Read MoreLorenzo “Rennie” Harris (1963- )
Diane Abbott, the first black woman to be elected to the British Parliament, was born to Jamaican immigrant parents in 1953. Growing up in Paddington, London, she attended Harrow County grammar school before pursuing studies in History to Master’s level at Newnham College, Cambridge. Upon … Read MoreDiane Abbott (1953- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Bill Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia on May 25, 1878 to Maxwell and Maria Robinson. Due to the death of both of his parents when he was an infant, Bill and his younger brother Percy were brought up by his … Read MoreBill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949)
Image Ownership: Public Domain The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began in 1958 in New York City, New York as a repertory company of seven African American dancers performing both Ailey’s work and also classic modern pieces. They were soon acknowledged as the preeminent … Read MoreAlvin Ailey Dance Theater
Fayard and Harold Nicholas, whose careers spanned over six decades, made up one of the most beloved dance teams in the history of dance, The Nicholas Brothers. They were best known for their unforgettable appearances in more than 30 Hollywood musicals in the 1930s and … Read MoreNicholas Brothers
Ernest William Chambers, Africana intellectual, has lived in the semi-segregated community of North Omaha, Nebraska for his entire life. A community activist in the 1960s, Chambers rode into office in the Nebraska State Legislature on the crest of new-black electoral power in 1970. As a … Read MoreErnest William Chambers (1937- )
Alvin Ailey was born in Rogers, Texas during the Great Depression. He overcame racism, poverty, and homophobia to become one of the most celebrated choreographers in American history. His single teenage mother Lula Ailey washed clothes, picked cotton, and worked in domestic service in various … Read MoreAlvin Ailey (1931-1989)