New York Times

Photographic Artifacts of Black Civil War Troops

By Eve M. Kahn

February 21, 2013

“In the year’s most haunting image of black Civil War soldiers, the opening battlefield sequence in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’, Confederate forces massacre many fallen former slaves. In reality, African-American prisoners of war were killed en masse. Black troops in action endured lower wages and poorer medical care and living conditions than their white counterparts. But soldiers of both races did have surprisingly easy access to the luxury of photography.”

“Photographers ran government-sanctioned booths near encampments, selling souvenir portraits. The images of black personnel, from officers to gravediggers, are now on view widely in 150th-anniversary commemorations of the Emancipation Proclamation. They provide a nuanced view of African-American life at the front, even though some of the subjects can no longer be identified.”

“‘There’s a lot of interpretation that comes in’, the Manhattan photography dealer Thomas Harris said, while leafing through an album of Civil War photographs that took two decades to assemble. Mr. Harris has lent three photos of black privates on duty at a Confederate prison camp near Rock Island, Ill., to a show that opens April 2 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Photography and the American Civil War.’ “

” The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of American History in Washington both have exhibitions now with images of African-American soldiers. A show focused on the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, led by Robert Gould Shaw, a white colonel, opens next month at the Museum of African American History in Boston. The National Gallery of Art in Washington has an exhibition opening this fall about the 54th and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s memorial to Shaw.”

” Saturday, February 23, the filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris [hosted] a Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow at the Schomburg Center, part of a series of open houses seeking photos and anecdotes. (With the historian Deborah Willis, he is also making a documentary due this fall, ‘Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People‘.) Previous open houses have attracted artifacts dating to the 1860s. ‘It’s amazing how much stuff emerges, how much material is in people’s homes,’ Mr. Harris said in a phone interview. “

To read the complete article, please visit “Photographic Artifacts of Black Civil War Troops“.

As a student in Jamaica, Albert Chong discovered photography almost by accident. He recalls how he was quickly captivated by the magic of the medium.

Kings Pilot James "Jemmy" Darrell Commemorative Service, Bermuda, April 13 2013. Courtesy of BERNEWS.

The Royal Gazette

A Mosaic of Relatives from Around the World

By Sam Strangeways

April 21, 2009

“They are black, white and every shade in between — and all descended from the same Bermudian ‘icon’. Hundreds of descendants of Pilot James (Jemmy) Darrell met for the first time at the weekend and delighted in the fact that they come in all colors. The huge four-day family gathering was organized by members of the Darrell family in Bermuda — and attracted more than 50 visitors from New Zealand, the States and the UK.”

“The Reverend Erskine Simmons told them at a church service in St. George‘s on Saturday that Pilot Darrell — a slave who won his freedom due to his ship piloting prowess and went on to fight for better rights for blacks — was ‘an icon of national and nautical pride’. The Kiwi branch of the family were the palest at the reunion — but Pete Darrell, from Christchurch, who got married on Saturday outside his ancestor’s former home, told The Royal Gazette he’d done a DNA test to confirm his heritage. ‘I actually got a kit and did the swab from my mouth,’ he said. ‘They said it was medium to strong that black was our history.’”

“‘Wentworth Christopher, the PLP’s public relations officer, attended Mr. Darrell’s wedding with wife Betty, a descendant of Pilot Darrell. ‘I think it’s a phenomenal day,’ he told this newspaper. ‘When you look at the descendants, it’s really a mosaic of ethnic groups and countries. I was able to even see familiarities in appearances across racial bands.’”

Annual Commemorative Service For King’s Pilot James 'Jemmy' Darrell, held Apr.14, 2012 in St. George’s, celebrating the life of the freed slave who became the first black man to own a home in Bermuda. Courtesy of BERNEWS

Approximately fifty family members and friends gathered at the graveside to honor Mr Darrell in 2012. Reverends David Raths and Erskine Simmons officiated the service and Senior Branch Pilot Mario Thompson addressed the crowd. TS Admiral Somers Sea Cadets were smartly represented and provided an honour guard at the ceremony. Courtesy of BERNEWS

“The gathering came about after New Zealander Bill Grant pieced together the family tree and discovered the connection to Pilot Darrell, whose great-grandson Edward left Bermuda for Tasmania in the 19th century. Rita Gail Johnson, from New York, said: ‘What Bill Grant was able to do was give us the Rosetta Stone of how we are all related. Now we all know how. A lot of us were crying just to realize how far sprung we are.’”

“Linda Manders, one of the organizers, said she’d discovered cousins close to home. ‘I’m a teacher and quite a few of my students turned up and said: ‘I’m related to you!’.'There are Bermudians we realized were cousins and so many we didn’t realize were cousins. It’s just been really, really positive and enlightening. We did not realize how far we extended around the world.’”

Members of the T.S. Admiral Somers Sea Cadet Corp remove their hats for a moment of silence during the Annual Commemorative Service for King's Pilot James Darrell at his grave site in the churchyard of St Peters, Their Majesties Chappell in St Georgeís on Saturday. Photo by Glenn Tucker via The Royal Gazette.

To see the complete article, please visit “A Mosaic of Relatives From Around the World“, as well as the more recent coverage from 2012, “Service Honouring James ‘Jemmy’ Darrell“, and 2013, Remembering Kings Pilot James Darrell, both by Bernews!

Since September 2012, I’ve had the privilege of doing volunteer work at Chimpanzee Productions with founder and CEO Thomas Allen Harris.  I have assisted Harris, an award winning Filmmaker/Writer/Director/Producer, on two projects: Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) and an upcoming documentary, “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (TALD).” Sharing my family photos with DDFR (see “Dr. Marshall’s Photo Mission“) and researching photographers for TALD afforded me the opportunity to share with Harris that many of my family’s photographs were taken by a relatively unknown 19th Century African American father and son team from Augusta, GA.  I was overjoyed when Harris invited me to write an article on my research about these enterprising Black photographers.  I am grateful to him for the invitation and to members of TALD team for their technical assistance with the layout.

My interest in the father and son photographer team of Robert Williams (born 1834) and Robert E. Williams (1858 – 1937) emerged as I researched my family history and explored the many 16×20 portraits and 4×6 ambrotypes of my maternal grandmother’s family, also named Williams.  I discovered many of my ancestors’ photographs were taken by the photographers, whose studio bore the name R. Williams & Son.  More than a few of the smaller 4 x 6 pictures were stamped/imprinted with “R. Williams & Son (Star Gallery)” or “R. Williams & Co.” on the back of the photo.  Whether “R. Williams & Son/Co.” singularly or “R. Williams & Son/Star Gallery,” most had the same 705 Broad Street, Augusta, GA. address imprinted on them.  Others had a Marbury Street address which was also located near Broad Street.

The Collier Brothers (left) Dr Marshall's great Aunt, Mary Francile Williams (Right)

While my family has a substantial collection of photographs/portraits by R. Williams & Son (Co./Star Gallery) called “The Fig Tree Collection,” the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the University of Georgia Libraries has a collection of 86 Glass plate negatives and positive prints.  Prints from the latter may be viewed online at Digital Library of Georgia.  They appear within this blog in black and white.  All other photographs are the property of The Fig Tree Collection with the exception of those tagged otherwise.  Photographs from The Fig Tree Collection plus those from Hargrett confirm Robert Williams & Son’s versatility in subject matter. The Fig Tree Collection depicts formal portraits of the Williams Family, one African American family in Augusta, Richmond County, GA.   They vary in size and type.  The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Book collection consists of photographs depicting “dwellings and domestic chores, rituals of baptism, harvesting and transporting cotton, vehicles and transportation, and children and family life.”

The Cotton Market in Augusta, GA. Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

'Baby in Bowl'. Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Using oral history, the imprint/photographer’s logo on the back of many of my family’s photos, a local African American newspaper, The Augusta City Directory, Ancestry.com and other internet sources, I uncovered even more information about R. Williams & Son, their family, photography business and my family.  I learned where the photographers lived, the level of education and kind of work they did.  For example, the 1850 Census showed Robert, Sr., a mulatto, was a “Free Inhabitant” of Augusta, Richmond County, GA.  Given that most blacks were not entered on the Census until 1870, it is not surprising that they are missing from the 1860 Census.  However, they are recorded on the 1870 Census, living in Augusta’s Ward 3.  Robert, Sr. is head of household, has married Amelia Williams (born circa 1832) in 1858, fathered Robert E. Williams and working as a “daguere artist.”  It further revealed he owned real estate worth $1,000.00, which would be valued at approximately $17,543.86 in 2013.

During this post-Reconstruction era, blacks and whites still lived next door to one another in many areas of Augusta, particularly in parts of Ward 3.

The subjects in the above photos are unknown. The logo confirms that R. Williams & Son used several names on photographs they took.

However, this portion of Ward 3 where the Williams’ family lived, called Springfield Village (now Springfield Village Park), was largely African American.  It was and remains two blocks from the main business district of Augusta–the courthouse, newspaper office, the cotton market, banks, restaurants and stores for general shopping.

Village of Springfield Park in 2007. By Staci Richey, New South Associates, Inc. via africanamericanspringfield.org

Springfield Village Park was the heart of the African American community in 19th Century Augusta and the location of the historic and landmark Springfield Baptist Church, founded in 1787.  This church served the religious, educational, political and social needs of the African American community; and, it was the place in which Morehouse College was founded as well as the Georgia Equal Rights Association.  Springfield Baptist Church (SBC) and Springfield Village Park have been restored and are on the list of National Landmark Sites.

In the 1840s, the congregation purchased a frame church building (built in 1801) from the St. John’s Methodist Congregation and moved it to the corner of Twelfth and Reynolds Streets. The building, shown here, was later moved to the rear of the property when a new brick church was built (Source: Augusta Richmond County Historical Society, Reese Library, Augusta State University) via africanamericanspringfield.org

I believe the baptism photos below show early baptisms in the Savannah River by pastors of Springfield Baptist Church during the late 19th Century.  SBC was located just a few blocks from the Savannah River.

'Baptism'. Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

'Men & Women with umbrellas'. Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

The Present Springfield Baptist Church Building at Twelfth and Reynolds Streets, Dates to the Turn of the Twentieth Century via africanamericanspringfield.org

SBC was also the religious home of four generations of my family beginning  in the 1890s with my great grandmother, Mary E. Williams, and continuing with my generation.  We were all baptized there; and, my mother’s graveside service was presided over by Rev. E. T. Martin, the last minister to serve the church before the current pastor.

Photographs from Robert E. Williams’ studio were proudly displayed throughout my family’s home.  These portraits, 16 x 20 in size, were beautiful and yet haunting to my child’s eyes.  It seemed wherever I turned my head to get away from their watch; the eyes in the pictures appeared more open and focused on me.  My child’s mind was filled with stories about their lives so it was easy to bring them to life, often causing me to run as though they had come off the wall in chase.  My grandmother and great aunts loved talking about the family, the growth of the African American community and Augusta, the good and bad.  They freely shared political, educational and social views with my siblings and me.

Dr. Marshall’s great grandmother, Mary Ella Williams, Circa 1906

I was a sponge soaking up their stories while learning our family and the community’s history.  Thus, when I became the family archivist/historian, the serious task of documenting and researching our history was easier than I imagined.  Our 1861 family bible, collection of photographs, letters, books and newspapers yielded family history and also documented that of other Augustans.  It was while looking at the family section of our bible that I saw the name Robert Williams and wondered:  “Is this THE Robert Williams who took the photographs that captured my imagination and sometimes frightened me?  Are we related?”

Dr Marshall's great Aunt, Mary Francile and grand mother, Mattie Williams, Circa 1906

These questions grew stronger over time as I found photos that one might label “photographers’ proofs.”  I also discovered photos with other “marks” on them that suggested a possible connection between photographer R. Williams & Son and my family.  It has been a labor of love over the last twenty plus years as I researched and and obtained as much information on R. Williams & Son as I did on my family:  the Mary Ella & Willie Williams family I knew and of which I am a member.

The family’s collection also included tintypes, ambrotypes and postcard photos.  They fed my desire to know the photographers R. Williams & Son.  Here, too, the photographer’s logo/imprint and information recorded on the back of photographs provided detailed information for me.

Unknown baby girl on left and Dr Marshall's great Aunt, Mary Francile Williams on right

The imprint on the above photograph of Mary F. Williams is that of J. H. Williams, and his studio is located on Marbury Street, Augusta, and GA.  While I haven’t been able to identify J. W. Williams, the 1880 Census revealed Robert, Sr. and Robert Jr. lived on Marbury Street.  This suggests there is yet another Williams’ photographer to be unearthed.

The Collier Brothers

Robert, Williams, Sr. was the first black photographer in Augusta. Various sources, including the 1870 Census, indicate that he worked from 1870 to about 1880, honing his craft in the shop of white photographer John Usher.  The 1880 Census depicts Robert, Sr., working as a laborer; and Robert, Jr. as the photographer.  Although still working out of John Usher’s studio, Robert, Jr.’s skills developed to the point where he was later written into Georgia’s history as one of the best black photographers in Augusta.

According to The Augusta City Directories, 1872 to 1891, John Usher operated a studio at 206 Broad Street.  By 1888, the AD indicates that the Williams’s are now primary owners, and the studio is recorded as R. Williams & Son.  This listing remains in the Augusta Directory until 1908.  Two years later, the 1910 Census reveals that both Robert, Sr. and Robert, Jr. have retired.  Although the AD and other records suggest father and son operated the business from 1873 to 1898, this is not entirely accurate.  John Usher is listed from 1872 to 1891, and Robert E. Williams, Jr. is listed from 1889 to 1891.  As stated earlier, Census records reveal Robert, Sr. worked as a photographer from 1870 to 1880 before becoming a laborer.  He clearly continued to mentor his son as Robert, Jr. began his career in 1880 and continued until at least 1908.  By 1910, the Census list both men as “retired.”

Like his father, Robert, Jr. mentors and teaches his son photography.  So, while the 1910 Census shows both father and son older as being retired, it lists Charles Williams, the 26 year-old son of Robert, Jr., and grandson of Robert, Sr. as “photographer.”  This strongly suggests that R. Williams & Son continued as a business for a period after 1908.

Dr Marshall's great Aunt, Armenia R. Williams, Circa 1916

This last photo of Armenia R. Williams was probably taken between 1916 and 1918.  She was my great aunt who graduated from Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in 1916 and attended Paine College, both located in Augusta.  Although this photo is not by the Williams’s, the photographers who took it, the Baumann Brothers, may have been associated with them.  The only conclusion I can draw from this photo is that my family had the financial means to continue having professional photographs taken even after the father, son and grandson photography team of R. Williams & Son closed their doors.

Finally, photos from my family’s collection (The Fig Tree Collection), from The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, oral history and the Augusta City Directories have given me a more complete picture of R. Williams & Son. The Williams’s—father, son and grandson—made an enormous contribution to Georgia’s photographic history in general, and the Augusta African American photographic history in particular.  I continue to research their lives in hopes of learning even more about them and their possible genealogical connection to my family.

Now with the political agenda becoming increasingly more sympathetic to the Gay rights movement, we can revisit some of the contributions made by those that had helped bring progress to a struggle that fought for far too long.

Thomas Allen Harris’ short documentary film, “Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness”, connects the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th Century with the same-sex marriage equality movement of today through the story of Massachusetts State Rep. Byron Rushing, a veteran Civil Rights organizer. Rushing in coalition with communities of color throughout Massachusetts challenged religious and political opponents to define marriage as a ‘human right.’

Byron Rushing in Boston, June 14 2007. Final Constitutional Convention at which the the amendment to ban same-sex marriage was voted down.

The seventeen-minute documentary interweaves archival footage and photos with contemporary interviews to illuminate events surrounding the pivotal Massachusetts state constitutional convention on Same Sex Marriage which gave new momentum to the national Marriage Equality movement as a Civil Rights issue. Harris’ documentary includes the stories of everyone, from political organizers to preachers to people on the street. At the center of our story is Massachusetts Representative Byron Rushing, who took the campaign for Same Sex Marriage into African American communities directly challenging many religious leaders, and defining the right to Same Sex Marriage as a Civil Rights issue on par with the liberation movements of the 1950s and 1960s. An unlikely Gay Rights hero in some respects, Rushing, a heterosexual man of strong faith, has spent a lifetime championing the causes of the underserved, overlooked and oppressed.

Joseph Reed and Arnold Sapenter, together for 45 years, during production of "Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness"

Still of Mattie Hayes and Cambridge City Councilor E. Denise Simmons at their wedding, from "Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness"

The New York Times

Same-Sex Marriage Polls and Political Savvy

By Andrew Rosenthal

March 19, 2013

“Anyone wondering why Republicans such as Jon Huntsman and Rob Portman are suddenly announcing their support for gay marriage (and why the anti-gay marriage forum at the Conservative Political Action Convention last week was empty while the pro-marriage forum was packed) should take a look at this poll from ABC News and the Washington Post.”

“A significant majority of 58 percent (way more than it takes to be elected to any public office, and almost enough to kill a Senate filibuster) say that gay men and lesbians should have the right to marry. That number was at 37 percent in 2003 and just barely over 50 percent two years ago.”

Bob Sodervick waves a rainbow flag outside the U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on June 5, 2012 Courtesy of Robert Galbraith/Reuters Via New York Times

“The more the issue is debated – the more anti-equality forces air their arguments in public and in court – the more obvious it is that denying gay men and women the right to marry is purely discriminatory. Gay marriages are not a threat to straight marriages. And children raised by gay parents, by any objective measure, are just as well-adjusted.”

“Mrs. Clinton said she supports gay marriage both ‘personally and as a matter of policy and law,’ suggesting that she views state bans as unconstitutional. President Obama also took that position recently, but his Justice Department is still curiously reluctant to go quite so far. Don’t the president’s lawyers realize it’s now safe to endorse marriage for all Americans, no matter what state they live in?”

To read the complete article, please visit “Same-Sex Marriage Polls and Political Savvy“.

Thomas Allen Harris' covering an interview with Rep. Byron Rushing, a veteran Civil Rights organizer.

The Monk Project - 005 Courtesy of Willie Middlebrook Via Dodge & Burn

Dodge & Burn: Diversity in Photography History

(Re)Discovering Photographer Willie Middlebrook

by Qiana Mestrich

March 25, 2013

” ‘Art is about communication…  I need to tell, to show what I see, what I feel. I am intrigued and motivated by life experience, the human condition… My subjects—family and friends—and I have an understanding focused towards a single goal: to speak about our people, our communities. My drive, my direction, my strong social and aesthetic convictions in everything I do stems from my parents, who endowed me with strong feelings about the ideals and the integrity of being black.’ ”

- “Willie Middlebrook quote from the article, ‘Portraits of His People: A Tribute to Willie Middlebrook‘ by Paul Von Blum”

“In LA, Middlebrook was exposed to the Black Arts scene that gave birth to many artists like Outterbridge, David Hammons, sculptor Melvin Edwards and video artist Ulysses Jenkins. For more on LA’s Black Arts movement, check out the catalog for the Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980 show recently on view at PS1 MOMA.”

” Middlebrook built his career as a documentary photographer making work about street life and the people (mostly African Americans) of downtown Los Angeles and Watts, CA. His transition to fine art photography began with what he called his ‘photographic paintings’ which involved spraying and brushing developer to reveal emotional portraits through drips then adding toner and bleach for extra effect, as seen in the image below. ”

Portraits of My People #319, 1990 Courtesy of Willie Middlebrook Via Dodge & Burn

Looking for God - Angel 2 by Willie Middlebrook From the C.O.L.A. Project Via Dodge & Burn

” Unfortunately Middlebrook passed away in 2012, but his work will of course live on. To get a deeper sense of the artist, read this 2012 interview with Willie Middlebrook where he talks about his transition from photojournalism to fine art, being an artist in the Black community and much more. ”

To read the complete article, please visit “(Re)Discovering Photographer Willie Middlebrook“.

Hosts and guests dressed up for a backyard picnic. (John Johnson / Courtesy Douglas Keister / NMAAHC, SI)

Smithsonian Magazine

Lost and Found Again: Photos of African-Americans on the Plains

By Joseph Stromberg

February 2013

“Douglas Keister has spent the past four decades traveling the country to photograph subjects as varied as architecture, folk art and cemeteries. Over the years, as he moved from his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, to several different cities in California, he carted around a heavy box of 280 antique glass-plate negatives that he’d bought when he was 17 from a friend who’d found them at a garage sale. ‘I thought, Why the heck am I keeping these things?’ he says.”

“Then, in 1999, Keister’s mother sent him an article she’d seen in the Lincoln Journal Star saying historians in Lincoln had unearthed a few dozen glass negatives that featured portraits of the city’s small African-American population from the 1910s and ’20s, an era from which few other photos survived. Keister compared the images with his negatives, and ‘I just thought, Wow,’ he says. ‘The style of the pictures, the backdrops used—they looked the exact same.’ Almost by accident, he realized, he had conserved a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of an African-American community on the Great Plains.”

“Now Keister, who is 64 and lives in Chico, California, is donating 60 large-scale prints made from his collection for display in a permanent home—the National Museum of African American History and Culture, under construction and due to open on the National Mall in 2015. ‘They speak to a time and a place where African-Americans were treated as second-class citizens but lived their lives with dignity,’ says curator Michèle Gates Moresi. ‘You can read about it and hear people talk about it, but to actually see the images is something entirely different.’ ”

To read the complete article, please visit “Lost and Found Again: Photos of African-Americans on the Plains“.

Toby James and his children Myrtha, Edna and Mauranee. (John Johnson / Courtesy Douglas Keister / NMAAHC, SI)

'Mother and laughing child' by John Johnson, c. 1915, Collection Nebraska State Historical Society, Image courtesy of ExhibitsUSA Via Santa Clara University

The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University

Recovered Views: African American Portraits, 1912-1925

“The black-and-white portraits were made by an anonymous African-American who lived and worked in Lincoln, Nebraska in the early part of the twentieth century. Made between about 1912 and 1925, these portraits are more than just stunning images—they document life in a vibrant, middle-class black neighborhood in a small Midwestern city, a portion of society rarely depicted in any medium. Moreover, they provide an insider’s view of a small but thriving African American community during a period of transforming and increasingly charged race relations.”

“The photographs are attributed to John Johnson, a lifelong resident of Lincoln. Johnson, the son of a Civil War veteran, was born in 1879 and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1899. He briefly attended the University of Nebraska and worked most of his life at different jobs, including that of a janitor for the post office and a drayman (cart or wagon driver). Johnson’s subjects were diverse, ranging from poised individuals in their “Sunday best” attire to architecture (including buildings such as Quinn Chapel African Methodist Church, the Miller and Paine department store, and the Lincoln courthouse). Community elders remember Johnson traveling by horse and buggy, carrying his camera and tripod, and taking photographs throughout the town. Johnson continued to live in Lincoln until his death in 1953. However, no glass-plate negatives dated after 1925 have been found. Why would such an accomplished photographer stop producing images in the middle of his career? This question has led some researchers to propose that perhaps another photographer was involved. Some suggest that Earl McWilliams—another Lincoln-based photographer—may be solely responsible, or that he may have worked collaboratively with Johnson. McWilliams left Lincoln for California in 1925, a move which may explain why no images produced after that date have been found in the area. ”

To read the complete article, please visit “Recovered Views: African American Portraits, 1912-1925“.

American blues singer Gladys Bentley (1907 - 1960) poses with bandleader Willie Bryant (1908 - 1964) outside the Apollo Theater where posters advertise a performance by Bryant & his band, New York, New York, April 17, 1936. Courtesy of Frank Driggs Collection Via Getty Images)

New York Times

Icon of Harlem’s Gay Night Life Gives Way to Wreckers

By DAVID W. DUNLAP

March 10, 2013

“A year and a half from now, if all goes according to plan, the block of Seventh Avenue between West 131st and West 132nd Streets will have gained an eight-story building with 115 new rental apartments, one-fifth of them for lower-income families; a new church and fellowship hall; a new garage and new stores.”

“But it will also have lost a rich cache of social and cultural history: the former Lafayette Theater and an abutting structure that long ago housed Connie’s Inn and the Ubangi Club; places where Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington and Gladys Bentley appeared.”

“James F. Wilson, executive director of the CUNY Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, said the Ubangi Club, the Lafayette and Connie’s were at the epicenter of the cultural and musical scene during the Harlem Renaissance. “The Ubangi Club, in particular, epitomized the raucous energy and devil-may-care attitudes of the musicians, singers, and patrons who went there,” he said. “What a relief this club must have offered from the Depression and daily frustrations outside.”

The intersection of 131st Street and Seventh Avenue — a Harlem hot spot called "The Corner" — was the site of Connie's Inn, a popular nightclub located in the basement of 2221 Seventh Avenue. Connie's Inn was established in 1923 by Connie Immerman, during Prohibition, the period from 1920 to 1933 Via NYCAGO

'A rendering of the Lafayette, an apartment building on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard that is to replace the Williams Institutional C.M.E. Church and its adjacent Bell Center. A large cross on the ground floor marks the entrance to the church’s new space.' Courtesy of Meltzer Mandl Architects Via New York Times

“The building, to be called the Lafayette, will include 19,000 square feet for the church, which will have its own entrance on Seventh Avenue, with a large cross to underscore its religious identity. The sanctuary will have a balcony and seat about 700 worshipers, Rev. Dr. Julius C. Clay said. There will also be classrooms, offices and a fellowship hall. The pastor said the church was getting new space worth $5 million. ‘Free of debt,’ Dr. Clay said. ‘That’s the real miracle of the whole thing. I thank God for that.’”

“Still, preservationists like Michael Henry Adams, who has been fighting for Harlem’s architectural patrimony for decades, are dismayed about losing another historical treasure. He faulted the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but a spokeswoman for the agency said it had never received a request for a formal evaluation of the theater building’s eligibility.

Lafayette Theater - April, 1936-opening night of Orson Welles 'Macbeth'-Ubangi in background Courtesy of Harlem EYE Via beatonthestreetharlem

“‘It sounds really cliché to say,’ Dr. Wilson said, ‘but when I used to take students to Harlem’s historical sites, I would point to the facade of the old Lafayette and the Ubangi structure, and say, ‘If only these walls could talk.’ Sadly, I guess we’ll never have the chance to hear what they’d have to say.’”

To read the complete article, please visit “Icon of Harlem’s Gay Night Life Gives Way to Wreckers“

'Sugar Ray Robinson inside his Harlem barbershop in 1951, having his hair done by Rogers Simon.' Courtesy of Sam Falk Via The New York Times

New York Times

Once the King of Harlem Hairdressers, Now Nearly Forgotten

By COREY KILGANNON

March 24, 2013

“The man complimented Mr. Glenn G. Caldwell’s playing and introduced himself as Rogers Simon and began telling stories about all the musicians he had known, including Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Nat King Cole.”

“Mr. Simon had made such acquaintances as a result of his talents. But he gained notoriety not as a musician, but as a hair stylist who at one time was the king of Harlem hairdressers. He served as a personal barber for the likes of Mr. Cole and Mr. Ellington. But he was best known for tending to the head of Sugar Ray Robinson, the legendary boxer known as much for his style as his fighting skills.”

“‘He was considered the best hairstylist in Harlem in his day,’ said Mr. Caldwell, a professor at McDaniel College near Baltimore. He remembered being transfixed by all the photographs and clippings that Mr. Simon pulled out of his car trunk that night in 1983 to back up his claims that he lived for decades among a who’s who of figures in Harlem and jazz.”

“That evening stuck with Mr. Caldwell, who wound up connecting with Mr. Simon and interviewing him just before the barber died in 2005. Today, Mr. Simon remains nearly forgotten, but Mr. Caldwell’s research has turned into a book he is writing on Mr. Simon, expanding a historical footnote into a fascinating portrait of a charismatic figure who used his barbering skills to cut a glamorous swath through Harlem in its heyday.”

“In 1953, Jet magazine credited Mr. Simon with inventing “the process,” a technique of straightening and setting kinky hair by flattening it and greasing it down.”

“Mr. Simon worked at Mr. Robinson’s well-known Golden Gloves Barber Shop in Harlem and became a vital part of the celebrated entourage that surrounded the champion welterweight and middleweight throughout the 1940s and ’50s. ‘Roger and Ray were very close — wherever Ray went, that’s where Roger went,’ Mr. Royal said, adding that the hair stylist would touch up Mr. Robinson’s coiffure during boxing matches.”

“‘In between rounds, Roger would be combing it, putting it right back in place,’ he said. ‘No matter how many times Ray fought, Roger would be in his corner. As fast as Ray would display his pugilistic charms, if a hair was out of place, Roger would jump up there and put it back in place.’”

'Glenn Caldwell, left, walked with Ray Robinson Jr. along a stretch in Harlem where Mr.Robinson's father once owned several storefront businesses, including the barbershop where Rogers Simon worked.' Courtesy of Yana Paskova Via The New York Times

“During his recent visit to New York, Mr. Caldwell met with Ray Robinson Jr., the boxer’s son, on the Harlem block where the elder Mr. Robinson once owned a string of storefront businesses, including the barbershop, Sugar Ray’s Quality Cleaners Edna Mae’s Lingerie Shop (named for Mr. Robinson’s wife) and the popular Sugar Ray’s nightclub.”

“‘Here’s this guy that was at the center of a lot of history because of a hairstyle, and now he’s nearly forgotten,’ Mr. Caldwell said. ‘I just want to help him leave his mark.’”

To read the complete article, please visit “Once the King of Harlem Hairdressers, Now Nearly Forgotten“

Frances Dixon holds photograph of her house where she's lived with her family.

The DDFR Roadshow traveled to Corona/East Elmhurst, Queens.  Our hosts were the Louis Armstrong House Museum, including curator Michael Cogswell, archivist Ricky Riccardi, and development director Nayelli Dispaltro, who rolled out the red carpet for our crew.  Among those who stopped by to share their stories of growing up in the neighborhood was longtime resident Frances Dixon.  Her father came from the Caribbean around 1910 and settled in Queens in 1925.

Frances Dixon holds up photograph of herself during the DDFR Roadshow, 2012.

Frances Dixon holds up photograph of her family and shares stories of life in Corona.

“My father bought the house in 1925, in Corona and I’m still in the same old house.”

Her father was a carpenter and helped to build the Empire State Building, and her mother had two jobs. She earned fifty cents an hour, back in those days, but, says Frances, “we never went hungry.”

Frances later married and raised her own family in Corona, just around the corner from the home of Louis and Lucille Armstrong (her bff).  Another of her good friends was Selma Heraldo, who lived next door to the Armstrongs and in whose home our interview with Frances was conducted.  Frances had lots of good memories in Corona. When DDFR host Thomas Allen Harris asked her ‘what is special about Queens’, Frances responded ‘We had a lot of good neighbors and families got along well. And we knew everybody around here. It was like a little home place.’

Frances Dixon shares her great stories with Thomas Allen Harris

Frances Dixon showcases her family photographs with Thomas Allen Harris

Of special note, Frances is an award-winning organist, so named by The Amsterdam News, and now that she’s retired, she’s available and looking for work!