Isabel "Belle" Geraldine Washington Powell (May 23, 1908 – May 1, 2007) was a dancer, showgirl, and actress during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

. She was the first wife of

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...

, and after their divorce, she went on to work in the Harlem public school system.

Biography

Isabel Washington was born May 23, 1908, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Raised in Savannah, she lived with her parents, Harriet (Hattie) Walker Ward Washington, a dancer, and Robert T. Washington, a postal worker, as well as her four brothers and four sisters. After their mother died, she and her older sister

Fredi Fredi may refer to: * Fredi (Valencian pilota) (born 1957), retired Valencian pilota professional player * Fredi Bobic (born 1971), German football striker * Fredi González (born 1964), Cuban current manager of the Atlanta Braves * Fredi Walker, A ...

were sent to school at

St. Elizabeth's Convent St. Elizabeth's Convent was a historic Roman Catholic convent located at 1663 Bristol Pike in Cornwells Heights, Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. From 1892 to 2017 it served as the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrame ...

in Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania. Powell later moved to New York to live with Fredi, who later became well-known as an actress. Following her sister into show business, Washington became a dancer and showgirl at various New York nightclubs, as well as acting on the Broadway stage. In 1929 she played the “other woman” in Bessie Smith’s only film,

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. Washington's first marriage was to photographer Preston Webster. They had one son together, Preston, Jr (later Preston Powell). While dancing at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

, Washington met Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Jr. The two were married in 1933 at the

Abyssinian Baptist Church The Abyssinian Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 132 West 138th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the National Baptist Conv ...

, where

Adam Clayton Powell Sr. Adam Clayton Powell (May 5, 1865 – June 12, 1953) was an American pastor who developed the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York as the largest Protestant congregation in the country, with 10,000 members. He was an African American com ...

served as minister. Powell's father objected to the marriage, as Washington was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, but she converted and the wedding drew 3,000 spectators. Isabel Powell assisted her husband in his early career, during which he was elected to

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

, became the senior minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and in 1944, he was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. In 1937 the couple purchased a house in

Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts Oak Bluffs is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2020 United States Census. It is one of the island's principal points of arrival for summer tourists ...

, an African-American community in

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

. They were married from 1933 until 1945, when Powell, a Baptist minister, left her for his second wife. After her divorce, Powell became a special education teacher. She divided her time between Harlem and Martha's Vineyard. Powell died on May 1, 2007, in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, New York.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Isabel Washington 1908 births 2007 deaths 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women African-American actresses American actresses Baptists from New York (state) Converts to Baptist denominations from Roman Catholicism Harlem Renaissance

Biography

References

Further reading

External links