vintage black glamour by nichelle gainer

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. With its stunning photographs and insightful biographies, this book is a hugely important addition to Black history archives.I’m joined by Vintage Black Glamour author, the fabulous Nichelle Gainer - a self-described “black history encyclopedia”. Although talented, successful and ground-breaking, many of the women in these pages were ignored by mainstream media, but their life's work and attitude stand as inspiration for us still, today. Vintage Black Glamour is a unique, sumptuous and revealing celebration of the lives and indomitable spirit of Black women of a previous era. Alongside the familiar images and stories of renowned performers such as Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne and Aretha Franklin are those of less well-remembered figures such as Bricktop, Pearl Primus, Diana Sands and many, many more.

Using rarely accessed photographic archives and private collections, inspired by her family history, Nichelle Gainer has unearthed a revealing treasure trove of historic photographs of famous actors, dancers, writers and entertainers who worked in the 20th-century entertainment business, but who rarely appeared in the same publications as their white counterparts.

Vintage black glamour by nichelle gainer