Anovelista.com

Anovelista.com //
Pronunciation: a'näv-a-lista. Function: noun. A writer of novels and Vintage Black Glamour. Style Blogger; Lt. Uhuru namesake; wine enthusiast. //
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nprradiopictures:

Duke Ellington, amid “his 20 suits, 15 shirts, suede shoes and his ever present piano” in his dressing room at the Paramount Theater in New York in September 1946.
Photo Credit: William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
I was scrolling through my Tumblr feed a year or so ago, when I saw a photo of Joyce Bryant. The caption said she was once dubbed the “black Marilyn Monroe” and was mentioned many times in Walter Winchell’s gossip column.
But, I had never heard of or seen Bryant before. It’s reactions like mine that led 42-year-old writer Nichelle Gainer to start a book project showcasing a collection of rarely seen historical photos of actors, educators, writers, students, musicians and more — all African-American.
“I write fiction for the most part, and when I am in libraries doing research … I’ve come across a lot of different interesting articles and photos that you never see anywhere else,” says Gainer, who has written for Woman’s Day, GQ, InStyle, Essence and Honey magazines. ”They’re just locked in these ivory towers, whether it’s an academic institution or a library.”
Gainer, who is still working on her book, decided to share her photo finds and now curates the Vintage Black Glamour Tumblr blog, Facebook page and Pinterest account. Much of what she posts are photos you likely haven’t seen before of stars you may know.
‘Vintage Black Glamour’ Exposes Little-Known Cultural History

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theodorafitzgerald:

Fats Waller grabbing a quick bite to eat

Fats Waller grabbing a snack in downtown New York, probably in the late 1930s.

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Harry Belafonte and Martin Luther King, Jr. having a good laugh together.

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Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, June Jordan, Lori Sharpe, and Audrey Edwards circa 1977 at a Black women’s writing group.

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Jimi Hendrix & Bob Marley?! Well alright now…

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cocolachiana:

the supremes.

The Divine SUPREMES

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“Buxom Los Angeles starlet” Suzette Harbin. She made frequent appearances in Jet.

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This photo, according to Travilla’s business partner and long-time friend Bill Sarris, shows Monroe and Travilla with an unidentified African-American man at the 5-4 Club in South Central Los Angeles in 1952. It has been in print only a handful of times, and has always appeared cropped, without the second man.
The story of this photo, as Travilla and Bill Sarris tell it, is that he and Marilyn spent the evening at an almost exclusively black club in Los Angeles - something that just wasn’t done in 1952. The studio was outraged, especially after her nude photograph scandal in March of that year, and the fact that she had just been on the April cover of Life magazine and hailed as ‘The Talk of Hollywood.’ As a result of being ‘caught on camera,’ they fired Travilla from the film they were working on. But Marilyn - one of Travilla’s closest friends - stood up and said ‘If he goes, I go.’ And of course, they let him stay, but they were successful in keeping this picture out of the press.”
“Marilyn was ahead of her time in terms of racial equality and civil rights. Even Ella Fitzgerald credits Marilyn with getting her into some of the ‘upper-crust’ jazz clubs of the day. She knew how to throw her weight around and it fits that she would stand up for Travilla.
“We’re searching for this mans identity,” He’s a part of history now that we’re revealing the photograph in its entirety for the first time.
Please email and let us know if you have any idea who this man was. | http://www.travillatour.com/

Marilyn Monroe got in big trouble with her studio for this photo with William Travilla and a mysterious black man in an exclusive black Los Angeles club in 1952. Do you know who he is?

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