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

LEGENDARY: A Tribute to Eartha Kitt (1927-2008)

Feline, Feminine, Fantastical. Those are the words to describe entertainer extraordinare, Eartha Kitt who passed away on Christmas Day. She was 81.

Ms. Kitt (nee Eartha Mae Keith) was one of the grandest Divas of her time, not just because she oozed sex appeal sans vulgarity, and had penchant for the finer things in life, but because she dared to stand up for what she believed in at a time when that was not acceptable.

In 1968, Ms. Kitt was invited to a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. What followed was the stuff of legends. When the late first lady asked Ms. Kitt for her thoughts on the rise of juvenile deliquency, Ms. Kitt said the Vietnam War was to blame. Here's Ms. Kitt's account of the event in an interview with the Philadelphia City Paper in 1997:

Do you feel the weight of the late-'60s blacklisting even now?
Not so much from the public, but behind the scenes, they feel that I did something that was not quite kosher even though I was right in telling the truth. [Robert] McNamara came out with his book saying I was right for saying we should not be involved in that war. It was alright for him to be responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of our boys because he wanted to keep his position. When you stand up and tell the truth, it will set you free, providing the truth eventually comes out.
Did you perform at the luncheon where you made the remark? Were reporters there?
No. Lady Bird Johnson invited me and 49 other women to give opinions about why there was so much juvenile delinquency in the streets of America at that time. The main problem was our involvement in Vietnam. She asked me a question and I gave her my opinion. There was no ranting and raving and screaming and I was not out there to sing songs.
What was your greatest setback due to this blacklist?
That I couldn't work. What could be more setting back than that? It stopped me from working because President Johnson said, "I don't want to see that woman's face anywhere. Out of sight, out of mind." And it locked the door to working at theaters and clubs. They didn't want me to work there because they did not want the CIA and FBI on their doorstep.
What is the greatest triumph you learned through all of this?

That we have to endure all the nonsense that the politicians are throwing at us all the time. You have to stand up and fight for what you know damn well is right. We happen to be living in a wonderful country, but if people are not willing to take care of business and be responsible for their own government, then [those same people] cannot be crying about what's happening.

Falsely branded by the CIA as "a sadistic nymphomaniac whose escapades and loose morals were the talk of Paris", it was ten years before Ms. Kitt was able to perform in the U.S. again. But it wasn't long before Ms. Kitt found herself embroiled in another controversy -- choosing to perform in South Africa during the reign of apartheid.

In 1974 and 1984, Ms. Kitt received a lot of criticism for choosing to perform before all white audiences in South Africa. This was a big no-no, especially among Black entertainers. However, Ms. Kitt wasn't phased by the attacks she received from her colleagues and friends. There was a methond to her madness. She believed that her tour in South Africa helped the anti-apartheid movement by bringing attention to the racism that was going on, as well as build schools for Black children in South Africa. From an interview with Jet magazine in 1972:

"I do not approve of apartheid. You do not curse sickness by ignoring it. Some Black stars say they will only play to nonwhites for fantastic fees and take money from the pockets of the poor Black people. I'd rather take the money from the affluent whites."

Despite being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006, Ms. Kitt still remained active. She worked the cabaret circuit, successfully re-opening the Café Carlyle in 2007 and performing in cabaret engagements up until two months ago. Her friend and spokesperson, Andrew Freedman, said that she had planned to perform throughout 2009, having booked dates for the entire year.

Ms. Kitt endured rejection, both personal and professional, throughout her lifetime, but through it all, Ms. Kitt was able to persevere creating a legacy of that will resonate for years to come.

"When I look at my Eartha Kitt scrapbooks today, I think, 'You know, she did a pretty good job of herself. She didn't do too badly - for an ugly duckling." --- Eartha Kitt