History Club Harlem was founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams on the site of a dance hall called Fitzgerald's Auditorium.[a] Williams was a medical student at University of Pennsylvania when he managed to acquire enough money to buy Fitzgerald's; he left college after becoming the owner of the nightclub.[2] Williams gave the new nightclub the name of the Manhattan neighborhood because "a lot of black people live there".[3][4] The district, known as "Kentucky Avenue and the Curb", had become the home for African Americans in the racially segregated city since the end of World War I.[5] The new nightspot joined other popular black entertainment venues in the district such as Grace's Little Belmont, the Wintergarten, and the Paradise Club.[5] Along with Harlem's Cotton Club, it was a place for the moneyed set to enjoy an evening of African-American entertainment.[6] When the club opened in 1935, there were slot machines along

Katherine Johnson  -- the mathematician portrayed by  Taraji P. Henson  in the Oscar-nominated film "Hidden Figures" -- has died. NASA announced the pioneering figure died Monday. It was her groundbreaking math work that helped calculate the trajectories for  Alan Shepard 's history-making journey in space. She was also the one who gave the go-ahead for  John Glenn 's mission into orbit

Priscilla Taylor, an African American woman truck driver serving in the Women's Army Corps. 

Robert Francis Flemming Jr.  (July 1839 [1]  – February 23, 1919) was an American inventor [5]  and  Union  sailor in the  American Civil War . [7] [8]  He was the first crew member aboard the  USS  Housatonic  to spot the  H.L. Hunley  before it sank the USS  Housatonic . The  sinking of USS  Housatonic  is renowned as the first sinking of an enemy ship in combat by a  submarine . [6]

The Sylvers , (known as  The Little Angels  in their early years), were an American R&B/Soul family vocal group from  Watts, Los Angeles ,  California . The Sylvers were one of the most popular acts during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", " Boogie Fever " and " Hot Line ". Prior to becoming the Sylvers, the four eldest members (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) recorded as the Little Angels, appearing on shows such as  Make Room for Daddy  and  You Bet Your Life , and opening for such acts as  Johnny Mathis  and  Ray Charles . During this time, two singles were released: "Santa Claus Parade" b/w "I'll Be a Little Angel" on  Warwick Records (United States)  and "Says You" b/w "Olympia" on  Capitol Records .

Esther Denise Scott  (April 13, 1953 – February 14, 2020) was an American actress. Scott began her career as voice actress on  Star Wars: Ewoks , before appearing on television shows including  Beverly Hills, 90210 ,  Full House ,  Party of Five ,  Ellen ,  The Steve Harvey Show , and  Sister, Sister

Early life Sarah Rector was born in 1902 near the all-black town of  Taft , located in the eastern portion of  Oklahoma , [2]  in what was then  Indian Territory . She had five siblings. Her parents, Joseph Rector and his wife, Rose McQueen (both born 1881) [3]  were African descendants of the Creek Nation  Creek Indians  before the  Civil war  and which became part of the Creek Nation after the  Treaty of 1866 . As such, they and their descendants were listed as  freedmen  on the  Dawes Rolls , by which they were entitled to land allotments under the  Treaty of 1866 made by the United States with the  Five Civilized Tribes . [4]  Consequently, nearly 600 black children, or Creek Freedmen minors as they were called, were granted 160 acres of land each. [ dubious   –  discuss ] [5]  This was a mandatory step in the process of integration of the Indian Territory with  Oklahoma Territory to form what is now the State of  Oklahoma . [6] [7] Sarah's father Joseph was the son

. Jeannette Dubois [1]  (August 5th, 1945 [2] [3]   ;  – February 18, 2020 [4] ) , known professionally as  Ja'Net DuBois ,  Ja'net DuBois , [3]  and  Ja'Net Du Bois , was an American actress, singer–songwriter and dancer. DuBois was best known for her portrayal of  Willona Woods , the neighborhood gossip maven and a friend of the Evans family on the sitcom  Good Times , which originally aired from 1974 to 1979. DuBois additionally co–wrote and sang the theme song "Movin' on Up" for  The Jeffersons , which originally aired from 1975 until 1985. [8]

Frederick McKinley Jones  (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an African-American inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the  National Medal of Technology , and an  inductee  of the  National Inventors Hall of Fame . [1]  His innovations in  refrigeration  brought great improvement to the long-haul transportation of perishable goods. [2]  He cofounded  Thermo King . [1]

Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr.  (March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963) was an  African American inventor  and businessman as well as an influential political leader. His most notable inventions were the three position  traffic signal  and  smoke hood . Morgan also discovered and developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution. He created a successful company based on his hair product inventions along with a complete line of hair-care products.

Matthew A. Cherry, the  inventor  of the tricycle, was born on February 5, 1834 in  Washington, D.C . While not much is known about his early life, it is evident that he had a passion for revolutionizing transportation. He is known for his improvement on the velocipede, followed by his invention of both the tricycle and the streetcar fender. Cherry prefaced his inventions with a great improvement on the velocipede. A precursor to the modern-day bicycle, this vehicle consisted of a metal seat frame with wheels attached. The riders were able to transport themselves quickly by moving their feet along the ground to propel the frame. Before pedals, this was quite a fast way to travel around town. Cherry’s model of the velocipede was an improvement on past versions, and eventually his model evolved into the tricycle, which is still used today. In May 1888, Cherry received his patent for the tricycle. Even today, tricycles are the choice of transportation for many as opposed to bi

BG  Charles E. McGee  (born December 7, 1919) is a retired American  fighter pilot  and one of the last living members of the  Tuskegee Airmen . He was a career officer in the  United States Air Force  for more than 30 years and flew a three-war total of 409 combat missions in  World War II , the  Korean War , and the  Vietnam War , one of the highest combat totals and longest active-duty careers by any Air Force fighter pilot in history

Former student-athlete and longtime Commodore to lead Vanderbilt Athletics as first female athletic director Candice Storey Lee, a dedicated member of the Commodore family, will be the university’s first female athletic director and the first African American woman to head a Southeastern Conference athletics program