| Summary: | Dancer Isabel Washington Powell was born in Savannah, Georgia on May 23, 1908. At a young age, Powell was sent to a Catholic boarding school run by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania. After finishing her education, she moved to New York City and performed as a showgirl in the nightclubs of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance dancing, singing and acting in three Broadway shows in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1934, Powell married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and assisted him in his rise to elected politics. In 1945, the Powell's marriage ended in divorce. Powell went on to serve as a teacher's aide in New York's Harlem community public schools for over thirty years. Since 1945, Powell had a significant social and community presence during the summertime season on the Island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Powell passed away on May 1, 2007, at the age of 98.
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