Black History Month Profiles: Alvin Ailey and Nell Carter

Black History Month is observed every February to commemorate the important people and momentous events in African-American history. Hotspots honors Black History Month by profiling black LGBT people who have made noteworthy achievements in their personal or professional lives.

Alvin Ailey
(January 5, 1931 - December 1, 1989)

Alvin Ailey was born in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when he was six months old, so his mother supported him by finding odd jobs, which were hard to come by during the Depression. When he was 11, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, where he excelled at Thomas Jefferson High School. At the age of 18, he was introduced by a classmate to Lester Horton, who would inspire him to pursue dance as a career. He moved to San Francisco for a short time, where he became friends with Maya Angelou, with whom he would perform a nightclub act.

When he was 22, Ailey returned to Los Angeles and continued to study under Lester Horton. When Horton died, and the dance school was left with no artistic director, Ailey volunteered. This development would lead him to New York City, where he worked as a dancer on Broadway. Unsatisfied with this choice, he decided to start his own group, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Debuting in 1958, the theater company combined classical and modern dance, jazz music, and African dance and music styles. He choreographed over six dozen works for the company, with the best-known being "Revelations" (inspired by his Texas upbringing) and "Cry" (an ode to women everywhere, and made famous by his dancer friend Judith Jamison, who would eventually succeed Ailey as artistic director of the theater).

The company originally dealt with money issues, and Ailey was almost prepared to close the company in 1969, but things improved and Ailey and his dancers debuted at New York City Center in 1971 (where the dancers are still the performers-in-residence). By the late 1980s, Ailey became sick, and he learned he was dying of AIDS. Before his death, he named Jamison as his successor. He passed away from AIDS complications at the age of 58 on December 1, 1989.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed across the U.S. and abroad since 1962. It is estimated that over 20 million people have seen an Ailey show. Ailey's group was the first black dance company to perform shows behind the Iron Curtain, touring six cities in the USSR in 1970. In total, the dance company has performed in over 70 countries, and on every continent except Antarctica.

Nell Carter
(September 13, 1948 - January 23, 2003)

Nell Carter was born Nell Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, one of nine children. She endured many traumas growing up, such as the sudden death of her father when he was electrocuted by a downed power wire, and her rape and subsequent teenage pregnancy. Through it all, she found solace in music, and left Alabama to pursue her dreams in New York City when she was 19. At the same time, Nell Hardy changed her surname to Carter.

Nell Carter's goal was to make it on the Great White Way. She played her first role on Broadway when she was 23, in the rock opera "Soon." It would take her nearly a decade to break through as a bona fide Broadway star, but it finally happened for Nell Carter when she starred with Irene Cara in the musical "Ain't Misbehavin'." She earned a Tony Award for her role, and would go on to win an Emmy when the musical was commissioned for television in 1982. Her talents were noticed by Milo� Forman, who asked her to be a part of his movie adaptation of the musical "Hair."

After gaining fame and accolades on Broadway, Carter decided to move to TV. She made her small-screen debut on the ABC soap opera "Ryan's Hope." In 1981, she was offered her own sitcom, playing the role of housekeeper and confidant Nell Harper on the NBC sitcom "Gimme a Break!" The show was very successful, running for six years, and Carter received two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the series. Although she was at the top of her career, she suffered from depression and eventually a drug problem. By 1985, she was completely sober.

In the 1990s, she guest-starred on a number of sitcoms and game shows, and even returned to Broadway in the 1997 revival of "Annie," as Miss Hannigan. By the time she died in early 2003, from heart disease and diabetes, she was rehearsing for a role in the musical "Raisin" and was shooting a movie. She left behind three children and a life partner, Ann Kaser.

Well-known for her performances on the stage, Carter played in such Broadway and off-Broadway productions as the aforementioned "Ain't Misbehavin'" (the 1978 original show and the 1988 revival) and "Annie," as well as "Dude," "Be Kind to People Week," "Tom Eyen's Dirtiest Musical," "Black Broadway," "South Pacific," and "The Vagina Monologues." "Ain't Misbehavin'" in particular earned Carter four different awards: Apart from the Tony and Emmy, Carter received a Drama Desk Award and a Theatre World Award, both for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.