Harlem Icons

Representing excellence in the areas of literature, music, politics, dance and film, Harlem’s influence reaches beyond its physical borders and touches the world.  Some of the most recognizable figures in history and current popular culture have called Harlem home. This is a partial list:

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Al Pacino

Harry Belafonte

Mekhi Phifer

Marc Anthony

Alicia Keys

W.E.B Dubois

Diahann Carroll

Eartha Kitt

Ossie Davis

Ruby Dee

Stanley Nelson

William Greaves

Maya Angelou

Robert Earl Jones

Sean Combs

Jose Feliciano

Langston Hughes

Tito Puente

James Baldwin

Cicely Tyson

George Carlin

Billie Holiday

Oscar Micheaux

Harry Houdini

Charlie Parker

Marcus Garvey

Charles Rangel

Duke Ellington

Hazel Scott

Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Keith Sweat

Ella Fitzgerald

Norman Rockwell

Paul Robeson

Burt Lancaster

Richard Wright

Thurgood Marshall

Malcolm X

Madeline Anderson

Dapper Dan

Sammy Davis Jr.

Ving Rhames

Doug E. Fresh

Keith David

Yuri Kochiyama

Billy Dee Williams

Damon Dash

Arthur French