Vintage Black Glamour by Nichelle Gainer

Madame CJ Walker - entrepreneur, first Black Woman to become a millionaire Ī’Lelia Walker-Madame CJ Walker’s daughter, patron of the arts & hostess of infamous bathtub gin parties James Van Der Zee - photographer of the Harlem Renaissance Ĭarl Van Vechten - another key photographer and author of the Harlem Renaissance, he was German and slightly controversial īlanche Dunne - socialite and actress known as one of the most beautiful and fashionable women of the Renaissance Key Figures of the Harlem Renaissance (1920s-30s) Nichelle’s Wonderful Books that I Can’t Recommend Enough: (Vintage Black Glamour) (Gentleman’s Quarters) Get Familiar with the Four Goddesses (Rare Photos) Josephine Baker Lena Horne Dorothy Dandridge Eartha Kitt Links below for deeper dives on all the people we discusses together. Nichelle tells me about growing up in South Jersey in the 70s and 80s and why when it comes to her hair - you get what you pay for. We talk about the “It Girls” of the Harlem Renaissance like A’Lelia Walker and Blanche Dunne, roles black actresses have had to take in Hollywood, and the importance of keeping these stories alive for future generations. I learn about the history of black beauty pageants, the ‘Four Goddesses’: Josephine Baker, Lena Horne, Dorthy Dandridge and Ertha Kitt and why they’ve been able to maintain icon status decades later.

We discuss how what started out as a research project for a novel inspired by her great aunt, Mildred Taylor, a model in the 1950s evolved into the Vintage Black Glamour Tumblr site in 2011. I’m joined by Vintage Black Glamour author, the fabulous Nichelle Gainer - a self-described “black history encyclopedia”.

Vintage Black Glamour by Nichelle Gainer