LEGENDARY: Lena Horne, Our Bronze Venus (1919-2010)

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne

Singer, Actress, Civil Rights Activist

(June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010)

Stormy Weather was the first all-Black classic film that I had ever seen (and helped to establish my love for Black classic films). When I was a kid, the local television station would, once or twice a year, air this classic, and I would stop whatever I was doing to watch it. My favorite part was when Lena Horne's character, "Selena Rogers", sang Ms. Horne's signature song, "Stormy Weather" as the great Katherine Dunham danced in the background. Like everyone else, I was in awe of her beauty and the classy way she carried herself. Ms. Horne as a glamourous, sophisticated leading lady was a welcomed depature to the maid and "mammy" roles I was accustomed to seeing Black actors play when watching films from yesteryear.

It wasn't until I got older, and read more about Ms. Horne, that I learned that she was more than a pretty face. She was a pioneer who broke barriers for Black performers, becoming the first Black actor to sign a contract with a major Hollywood studio. Ms. Horne was also a fierce advocate for Civil Rights, working with Paul Robeson (which caused her to be blacklisted during McCarthy's Red Scare), refusing to perform for segregated audiences at USO performances, participating in the March on Washington in 1963 and, my personal favorite, throwing at lamp at a customer who made a racial slur at a Beverly Hills restaurant. In Brian Lanker's book, "I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America", Ms. Horne said, "I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn't work for places that kept us out. ... It was a damn fight everywhere I was, every place I worked, in New York, in Hollywood, all over the world".

Thank you, Ms. Horne, our Bronze Venus, for showing the world that Black is beautiful, strong, elegant, classy and courageous.

"I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." - Lena Horne

Suggested Reading:

The Hornes: An American Family  by Gail Lumet Buckley

A Queen And Her Crowns: In Memory of Dorothy I. Height

On Tuesday, we lost a soldier in the fight for Civil Rights. Dorothy I. Height passed away after a short illness. She was 98 years old.

While not a household name, Ms. Height had an enormous impact on the Civil Rights Movement as she served as president of the National Council of Negro Women, worked to integrate the YWCA and served as one of the senior organizers of the March on Washington. In 1994, Ms. Height received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 for her hard work.

Ms. Height was well known for her gorgeous collection of hats (or as we like to call them, crowns), as well as her lady like style of dress. I believe she used her fashion as a weapon against discrimination and racist stereotypes. Her crowns, dresses, pearls and crisp white gloves sent a clear message: "I, too, am a woman worthy of respect".

Thank you, Ms. Height. May you Rest in Peace.