The Berry Brothers—Ananias "Nyas" Berry, James Berry, and Warren Berry

Nothing is impossible!

Text from the Youtube Description.

The Berry Brothers—Ananias "Nyas" Berry, James Berry, and Warren Berry—were one of the most spectacular acrobatic tap dance acts in American history, yet most people have never heard of them. Ananias was born in 1913 and James in 1915, both in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1919, when Ananias was just 6 and James was 4, they were already performing together in Chicago, touring the church circuit and reciting poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Their father was extremely religious and initially forbade his children from dancing. But James entered a local dance contest anyway and won, receiving a $75 weekly contract offer from the theater (over $1,300 in today's money). His father rejected it. The family moved to Denver, where their younger brother Warren was born in 1922. The brothers continued performing at carnivals. In the mid-1920s, the family moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, where the boys worked as child actors. James performed at parties hosted by silent film stars like Mary Pickford and Clara Bow, and appeared in the Our Gang comedies and other silent films. In 1929, seventeen-year-old Ananias and fifteen-year-old James officially formed the dance duo "The Berry Brothers." They opened at Harlem's legendary Cotton Club with Duke Ellington in the show "Rhythmania." That same year, they became the FIRST Black performers ever at New York City's Copacabana nightclub—breaking the color barrier at one of America's most exclusive venues. In 1929, they also performed in London in Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds" revue. They starred on Broadway in "Blackbirds of 1930" (with Ethel Waters and Buck and Bubbles) and "Rhapsody in Black" in 1931. On December 27, 1932, the Berry Brothers were on the very FIRST bill ever performed when Radio City Music Hall opened. In 1934, Ananias briefly left the act when he married jazz trumpeter Valaida Snow. The youngest brother Warren, just 12 years old, stepped in to replace him. When Ananias's marriage ended in 1935, he rejoined his brothers and they became a permanent trio. Their style was called "exotic acrobatic soft shoe dance"—they combined strutting with incredible acrobatics (backflips, splits, spins) executed with seeming effortlessness. James Berry invented the "butt spin," the predecessor to the modern backspin. They were masters of the "freeze and melt"—a dance move that contrasts mesmerizing stillness with explosive flashes of movement. They performed in top hats and tails. Remarkably, they NEVER wore tap shoes—they were tap dancers who didn't need taps. In 1938, at the Cotton Club during the fall season, a legendary dance-off occurred between the Berry Brothers and the Nicholas Brothers (Fayard and Harold). Both acts were on the same bill, but Herman Stark, the programmer, scheduled the Berry Brothers to close the show, challenging them to top the Nicholas Brothers. For their grand finale, Ananias and James jumped onto the band platform, sprinted up a flight of stairs, and LEAPED 12 FEET THROUGH THE AIR over the heads of the musicians. They landed in body-rending splits on both sides of Warren, who had just snapped out of a twisting back somersault into a split of his own—all on the last note of the music. Tap dancer Pete Nugent later said: "That was a flash act. The greatest flash act we ever had!" By some accounts, the Berry Brothers were more athletic, while the Nicholas Brothers were better overall performers and crowd-pleasers. But one thing is certain: the Berry Brothers had no equal in flashy acrobatic style. In the 1940s, at the peak of their success, they performed in Hollywood movies. In "Panama Hattie" (1942), they appeared twice—once dancing solo, once dancing with Lena Horne. The Berry Brothers performed for over 30 years. Then on October 5, 1951, Ananias Berry died of heart failure at just 38 years old. James and Warren continued performing together for a few more years, sometimes together and sometimes alone. James Berry died on January 28, 1969, at age 54. Warren Berry worked as a film editor for over 15 years and died on August 10, 1996, at age 74. The Berry Brothers were pioneers—the first Black performers at the Copacabana, featured on the first Radio City Music Hall bill, competitors in the most legendary dance battle in Cotton Club history, and performers for over three decades who invented moves that influenced generations of dancers. Yet most people have never heard their names. This is Black History Unfiltered. Follow for more untold stories. #BerryBrothers, #BlackHistory, #TapDance, #CottonClub, #NicholasBrothers, #HarlemRenaissance, #Copacabana, #RadioCityMusicHall, #AcrobaticDance, #FlashAct, #1930s, #1940s, #Erased, #Forgotten, #BlackExcellence, #DanceHistory, #Vaudeville, #Broadway, #Hollywood, #UntoldStories Berry Brothers acrobatic tap dancers, Ananias James Warren Berry, first Black performers Copacabana 1929, Cotton Club dance battle 1938, Nicholas Brothers rivals, Radio City Music Hall first bill 1932, exotic acrobatic soft shoe dance

HNN: The Studio Museum of Harlem Press Opening

The Studio Museum of Harlem has stepped boldly into a new chapter, honoring the legacy of Harlem while shaping her fabulous future.

At the press opening, hosted by Harlem Network News’ Terri Wisdom, Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden and Chair Raymond J. McGuire reminded us that “It Takes a Village” to sustain cultural institutions. 

Their words carried the weight of Harlem’s history and the promise of tomorrow. The newly constructed Studio Museum, opening its doors November 15 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., is more than a building—it is a beacon for Black art, community, and resilience. 

From its iconic roots to its reimagined space, the museum continues to amplify voices too often overlooked, offering a platform where creativity and heritage converge. 

Harlem rises with this moment, and the Studio Museum stands as a testament to collective vision and enduring pride.

Harlem Mart 125: The American Dream Full Movie

This piece explained so much to me. Thank you.

"Created over a 9 year-span, Harlem's Mart 125: the American Dream is a documentary film about the history of Mart 125 and how it correlates to the "revitalization" of 125th street, Harlem's main commercial sector. Completed in 2009, this film takes its viewers on a historical journey which depicts the economic transition of 125th street from the late 1960's to present day. Mart 125 is used as a metaphor which examines the plague of perplexities that surround this unique black community and its relationship with the plans of urban renewal from a commercial stand point. Harlem's Mart 125: the American Dream portrays a microcosmic analysis of the displacement of Black American communities today. This is a story that takes an introspective look at the changing face of the most well known African-American neighborhood and a complexity of issues that surround this community in peril! If you like this film, please donate via www.paypal.com. Donate what you can so we can keep up with our administrative needs (getting our website back THE MART 125) and continuing to promote the voices of Mart 125 in Harlem. www.paypal.com - our email address to donate: harlemmart125@yahoo.com"

Rebuilding the Spirit of Harlem: History Has A Path to Peace Through Community

Before Iran Contra, Harlem moved to a different rhythm,
blues with a jazz trip on it. 

During the days of Bumpy Johnson, the Queen, and even Frank Lucas,
despite the underworld’s shadows, there was an unspoken code: 
Those who had shared with those who had not. 

What use to be called "running the numbers", a source of community support, is now called "Lotto". The drug trade became Iran Contra's #warondrugs, where the USA federal government targeted & sold crack for drug addictions - reasons why all as one must unite, speak truth loudly! It's time to take our power back. I'm talking to all good souls who live from love, truth and courage in service to the Great Spirit who made and orbits our appointed atoms.

Even before the Great Depression of the last century, Harlem's elders and community figures paid rent for families on the brink, covered funeral costs when grief struck without warning and made sure children could eat when cupboards were bare. 

My granndmother, Mary Frances "Nayer" Turner (pictured above), told the tales with pride of how during the stock market crash of 1929, not one person killed themselves in Harlem. Missionary meetings identified who needed help and provided it to the best of their abilities. Folks looked out for their neighbors because it was the right thing to do. 

In addition to the community based missionaries, the “numbers” weren’t just a street hustle; they were an informal community fund, cycling money through neighbors before it became what we now call government lotteries. 

In the last century, economic desperation rarely ended in hopelessness, because you could knock on a door and find help, even if it came in a brown envelope handed quietly on a Sunday morning while at church, Harlem has such beautiful churches.

Then came the 1980s, and the evil storm of the Iran-Contra era. As crack cocaine flooded Harlem, and many other Black communities across the nation were attacked, there were no numbers runners to help. Missionariies like Mother Clara Hale did whatever they could to heal.

Families were split by policy. Incarceration replaced rehabilitation, an art and science described by Harlem Griot Linda Humes as "restorative justice". 

In the era of Iran Contra crack, survival replaced community joy. Addiction became a new form of economic slavery, one that left few safe spaces to seek help, and even fewer elders left standing to offer it. 

We are called now to rebuild.

It is not nostalgia; it is guidance. We need to return to a culture where love is operationalized, not just in Harlem, but everywhere possible:

• Check on your neighbors. Is there a mother in your building who needs groceries? A child who needs shoes? An elder who needs company?

• Create micro-funds or mutual aid networks. Let the spirit of the “numbers” live on legally, ethically, and transparently as tools for collective uplift.

• Teach each other. Share skills, knowledge, and hope. Every connection strengthens the fabric of community. Be generous with love.

• Refuse to abandon the lost. Substance abuse, housing instability, and mental health crises should be met with compassion, not criminalization.

As we face new challenges—global boiling, economic uncertainty, and ongoing systemic injustices—the spirit of Harlem can be a guiding light for “peace on Earth to men, women, and children of good will.”

It takes love to build a community. It takes consistent love to sustain one.

The elders before us did not wait for permission to care for each other. Neither should we.

Let’s print, build, and grow this spirit together, weaving safety, dignity, and joy back into our neighborhoods. Let us become the community we wish we had when we needed it most, for each other, right now.

JOY.

Full ChatGPT conversation posted here 

https://chatgpt.com/share/686de43d-098c-8003-8316-673ed27c3b1d 

HNN: YAFFA CULTURAL ARTS & DR. LINDA HUMES CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HIPHOP

Yaffa Cultural Arts marks a milestone, weaving history, artistry, and community into Harlem’s living legacy.

In a spirited interview hosted by Harlem Network News’ Terri Wisdom, Dr. Linda Humes and the Yaffa team celebrated 50 years of Hip Hop with voices that shaped the movement.

Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, graffiti legend James Top, and creative visionaries Masani Davis and Ude joined in dialogue that underscored the mantra “It Takes a Village.”

Their upcoming panel and performances at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling spotlight Hip Hop’s enduring power to educate, uplift, and connect generations.

The event embodies Harlem’s tradition of cultural resilience—where rhythm, word, and image converge to honor the past while inspiring the future.

Harlem rises again, through art that speaks truth and builds community.

Gilbert Price "I've Gotta Be Me" on The Ed Sullivan Show

This Man Was Wrongfully Jailed, and What He Does To The Judge Made Her Cry...!

 

It was not just the Central Park 5.

"John Bunn was just 14 years old in 1992 when his life changed forever. Detective Louis N. Scarcella accused him of murdering an officer — an accusation that would haunt him for decades. Despite not matching the description of the real culprit, John and another teenager were arrested, convicted, and sent to prison. John was an innocent boy forced into the brutal reality of prison life.

The above video has more information from CNN posted on this link.

#wrongfulconviction #innocence #JusticeServed #Exonerated #JohnBunn #secondchances #OverturningInjustice #truthprevails #FightingForFreedom #resilience #survivor #injustice #redemption #criminaljusticereform #humanspirit #hope #innocentman #truthandjustice #BelieveInJustice #justiceforallvictims #overcomingadversity #inspiringstory #nevergiveup #InnocentLivesMatter #standforjustice #falselyaccused #justiceprevails #lifeafterprison #FromPrisonToFreedom #heartfeltmoments "

Greg Street ft. Nappy Roots - Good Day (Official Video)