3 who influenced religion

During Black History Month, the Daily News is looking at the accomplishments of some of the influential but less-celebrated African-Americans who made their marks in American history.

These are men and women who inspired the dreams, fanned the flames and stood in the thick of revolutionary change, but are often short-changed in the history books.

Here are three such individuals.

Adam Clayton Powell Sr. 1865-1953

He was the grandson of slaves, the father of a flamboyant namesake congressman and a towering figure in his own right.

As a boy, Powell, a Virginia native, is said to have learned the alphabet in a day. A year later, he was reading from the Bible.

A grandfather nudged Powell toward the ministry and he eventually served as pastor of churches in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The pastorate that made him famous, however, was at Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City.

Under Powell's leadership, Abyssinian practiced a social gospel that did not limit itself the pulpit and pews; the church operated a facility for the aged, helped feed the poor and agitated for racial and economic justice.

By the mid-1930s, Abyssinian claimed 14,000 members, making it the largest Protestant congregation in the United States.

Mamie Smith 1883-1946

Bessie Smith was better known, but Mamie got there first.

Her hit, "Crazy Blues," recorded in 1920, was the first blues vocal ever recorded and also the first recording by an African-American woman.

Despite that distinction, Smith did not think of herself primarily as a blues singer - she was a vaudevillian who sang many different styles.

The Cincinnati-born vocalist spent the '20s and '30s barnstorming across the United States with her Jazz Hounds, a band that included such luminaries as James "Bubber" Miley and Willie "The Lion" Smith.

Matthew Alexander Henson 1866-1955

On the day in 1887 that he first met explorer Robert Peary, Henson, though only about 21 years old, already had experience as a stevedore, seaman, bellhop and coachman.

Peary thought Henson might make a valuable valet on Peary's attempt to become the first man to reach the North Pole.

Peary soon discovered that Henson's abilities and experiences made him even more valuable as a colleague.

As Peary once put it, "I couldn't get along without him."

The men mounted seven expeditions to the Arctic, including the last, in 1908 and 1909, when they finally stood together at the top of the world, the first explorers to do so.