Nat “King” Cole (1919-1965)

Jazz pianist and popular singer Nathaniel Adams Coles was born into a musical family in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1919.  His mother Perlina was a choir director in his father Edward’s Baptist church.  His three brothers, Edward, Ike, and Freddy, became professional musicians.  Cole … Read MoreNat “King” Cole (1919-1965)

Lincoln Motion Picture Company

African American audiences were generally ignored by the major motion picture studios in the first two decades of the 20th century. Nonetheless, demand for films aimed at black theaters in both the South and larger northern cities prompted the formation of several “black” motion picture … Read MoreLincoln Motion Picture Company

Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew (“Stepin Fetchit”) Perry (1902-1985)

Reviled by Langston Hughes and many others for his film and stage portrayals of black characters as “lazy, shuffling, no-account Negroes,” Perry transformed himself from a minor-league minstrel clown into one of the most highly-paid black actors in Hollywood, California history at the expense of … Read MoreLincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew (“Stepin Fetchit”) Perry (1902-1985)