History's Heroines Who Lived in Our 'Hood

Five women you should know about this monthby Tiffany Valentin.During Women's History Month, the world pauses to celebrate a familiar roster of notable heroines, including Rosa Parks, Zora Neale Hurston and Susan B. Anthony. But many other women rarely get acknowledged--and some of them lived right here in Harlem during the Renaissance years. Here, we highlight some amazing women that you may not know but should:Party Girl: A'lelia WalkerShe was the daughter of Madame C.J. Walker, America's first woman millionaire. The younger Walker enjoyed throwing lavish parties in her Harlem townhouse on West 136th Street throughout the 1920s. She nicknamed the party floor “The Dark Tower” and entertained writers, artists, and publishers during the Harlem Renaissance. She once said, “Having no talent or gift, but a love and keen appreciation for art, The Dark Tower was my contribution.” A sight at 6 feet tall, well-educated and eccentric, Walker was known to serve delicacies such as caviar to her African-American friends at parties, and down-home food such as oxtail and pig's feet to her Caucasian friends. She also brewed gin in her bathtub and served it to her guests during the Prohibition era. Langston Hughes called her “the joy goddess of Harlem," and when she died from a cerebral hemorrhage due to high blood pressure in 1931 he called her passing “the end of the Harlem Renaissance.”Literary Lady: Jessie Redmon FausetLangston Hughes also had a nickname for Jessie Redmon Fauset: the “mid-wife” of African American literature. Born the seventh child of a family in Pennsylvania, she would one day be a driving force of  the Renaissance. Fauset worked for six years with W.E.B DuBois as literary editor of  the Crisis, the celebrated 100-year old publication of the NAACP. Predominantly a current affairs magazine, it also included poems and essays on African-American culture and history. During the Harlem Renaissance, Fauset encouraged writers such as Hughes and Arna Bontemps to contribute their work, and published her own writings as well to create an authentic voice for African-Americans in literature. After her departure from the Crisis, Faucet went on to publish a periodical for African-American children titled The Brownies’ Book and also four novels.  Queen of the Nightlife: Gladys BentleyDuring the 1920s, Gladys Bentley owned New York City’s wildly popular gay speakeasy, The Clam House. There, she dressed in men’s clothing and serenaded women in the audience in her distinct deep and “growling” voice. She also headlined at the Ubangi Club, backed up by a chorus line of drag queens.  In her signature top hat and tuxedo, she would belt out her own lyrics set to popular songs during Prohibition. When Harlem speakeasies began declining, she moved to southern California. Though she was openly lesbian during her career, she said she found God, began wearing dresses  claimed to be “cured” after taking female hormones.  She died at age 52 in 1960.Getting Her Record On: Mamie SmithMamie Smith was the first African-American artist to make vocal blues recordings in the 1920s. Her best-selling self-titled record sold a million of copies in less than a year, and her hit song “Crazy Blues” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994. Because of her popularity, record executives began trying to find artists similar to Smith, which opened  up the music industry to African Americans of all genres. Throughout her career, Smith toured with her band Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds. Credited as the “Queen of Blues” she continued singing until her death in 1946.  Entrepreneur Extraordinaire: Pigfoot MaryLillian Harris Dean, also known by the name Pigfoot Mary transformed herself into one of Harlem's most successful businesswomen. Described by journalist Roi Ottley as “huge and deep voiced,” Pigfoot Mary sold pigs' feet, hog maws, and chitlins on the corner of West 135^th Street and Lenox Avenue. She peddled her Southern wares out of an old baby carriage and steam booth connected to a corner newsstand. Though she arrived to New York from the south poor and illiterate, her hard work made her wealthy enough to purchase a five-story apartment house at the corner of 137^th Street and 7^th Avenue. She later sold the building to the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA). Before her death, she retired to California.