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Showing posts with the label New York City

Leonard Harper (April 9, 1899, Birmingham, Alabama – February 4, 1943, Harlem, New York)

Leonard Harper was a producer, stager, and  choreographer  in New York City during the  Harlem Renaissance  in the 1920's and 1930's. Harper's works spanned the worlds of  Vaudeville ,  Cabaret ,  Burlesque  and Broadway musical comedy. As a dancer, choreographer and studio owner, he coached many of the country's leading performers, including  Ruby Keller .  Fred Astaire  and  Adele Astaire , came by the studio twice, and the  Marx Brothers  went for lessons. He produced floor shows and theatrical revues both uptown in Harlem and downtown on Broadway's Great White Way. In his  Times Square  dance studio he trained the  Busby Berkeley  dancers, and Fred's sister  Adele Astaire . He co-directed and staged the ensemble segments of  The Exile  and the short film  Darktown Revue  with  Oscar Micheaux . Harper staged for Broadway  Hot Chocolates ...

Lawrence "Krisna" Parker (born August 20, 1965)

  Lawrence Parker, better known by his  stage names   KRS-One , and  Teacha , is an American  rapper  and occasional  producer  from  the Bronx ,  New York City ,  New York . KRS-One rose to prominence as part of the group  Boogie Down Productions , which he formed with DJ  Scott La Rock  in the late 1980's. Following the release of the group's debut album,  Criminal Minded , La Rock was shot dead, but KRS-One continued the group, effectively as a solo project. He began releasing records under his own name in 1993. KRS-One is noted to be a politically active musician having started the  Stop the Violence Movement , after the death of Scott La Rock, and the Temple of Hip Hop, as well as addressing political issues in his music. Lawrence Parker was born in  Brooklyn ,  New York  in 1965.  Parker left home at 16 to become an MC, coming to live at a  homeless shelter  in th...

Thomas L. Jennings

(1791–1856) was an  African-American   tradesman  and  abolitionist  in in  New York City ,  New York . He was a  free black  who operated a tailoring and  dry-cleaning  business, and in 1821 was the  first African American  to be granted a  patent . Jennings became active in working for his race and civil rights for the black community. In 1831, he was selected as assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in  Philadelphia ,  Pennsylvania , which met in June 1831. He helped arrange legal defense for his daughter,  Elizabeth Jennings , in 1854 when she challenged a private streetcar company's segregation of seating and was arrested. She was defended by the young  Chester Arthur , and won her case the next year. With two other prominent black leaders, Jennings organized the  Legal Rights Association  in 1855 in New York, which raised challenges to discr...