AMAZING Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, actress and activist, Lena Horne, born June 30, 1917, spent over 70 years appearing in film, television, and theater. In 1933, Horne joined the chorus line of the Cotton Club in New York City. She made her debut at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panama Hattie (1942) and performed the title song of Stormy Weather, based […]

American poet, novelist, and playwright Paul Laurence Dunbar, born June 27, 1872, was one of the first African-American writers to establish an international reputation. He wrote the lyrics for the musical comedy In Dahomey (1903), the first all-African-American musical produced on Broadway. His first collection of short stories, Folks From Dixie (1898), was an examination of racial […]

Singer and songwriter Brenda Holloway, born June 21, 1946, is best known for her recordings under the Motown label in the 1960s…which included hits, Every Little Bit Hurts, When I’m Gone, and You’ve Made Me So Very Happy.  She left Motown after four years, at the age of 22, and largely retired from the music […]

American writer, essayist, and playwright Marita Bonner (pic below), born June 16, 1899, is most known for being part of the Harlem Renaissance- the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s. She was a frequent contributor to The Crisis (the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored […]

Hattie McDaniel, born June 10, 1895, is best known for being the first African American to snatch an Oscar in 1940, for her  supporting role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind. Yet, all of the film’s black actors, including McDaniel, were barred from attending the film’s premiere in 1939.
McDaniel started professionally singing, dancing and […]

This past weekend, iconic drag star Noel Leon once again stopped traffic at Palace Bar’s famous Sunday brunch, on Ocean Drive in Miami. Unfortunately, this is one of the last high-kicking street performances at the legendary LGBT bar/restaurant…since the space has been sold, and is closing its doors on July 4th weekend. Palace Bar has been the […]