It’s Prohibition-era Harlem, and Gladys Bentley is at the piano at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House, one of the biggest gay speakeasies in New York. Dressed in her signature tuxedo and top hat, she sings bawdy lyrics to popular songs. Her voice is deep and growling, and she flirts with the women in the audience.

Even as a child, Gladys Bentley raised eyebrows. She was the only girl in a family of boys and preferred her brothers’ suits to dresses. Ostracized, she left home for New York at age 16, where she soon headlined at Harlem’s Ubangi Club, the Apollo, and the Cotton Club, backed by a chorus line of drag queens. Wrote Langston Hughes of her performance, “Miss Bentley was an amazing exhibition of musical energy – a large, dark, masculine lady … a perfect piece of African sculpture, animated by her own rhythm.”

The repeal of Prohibition meant the demise of the Harlem speakeasies. Moving to Los Angeles, she was dubbed “The Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs,” and “America’s Greatest Sepia Piano Player.” She counted Cary Grant, Cesar Romero, and Barbara Stanwyck as loyal fans, but her popularity, and the culture’s tolerance for her lifestyle, waned.  Still, as author James Wilson wrote, Bentley’s legacy endures.

This prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance “troubled the distinctions between black and white and masculine and feminine,” and remains an inspiration for African Americans and the LGBT community.

This episode of “Soundtrack to the Struggle” was co-written by Ron Adkins and Hollis Monroe.  Hosted by Hollis Monroe.

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Eartha Kitt was never afraid to use her distinctive voice. Born on a South Carolina cotton plantation, Eartha Mae Keith grew to record the standards, “Let’s Do It,” and “C’est Si Bon.” She was fluent in French, spoke four other languages, and sang in 11. She recorded, sang in nightclubs, and appeared in films, television, and Broadway.

Kitt suffered a serious setback in 1968, however, when, at a White House luncheon, she raised her voice against the Vietnam War. When asked about the war by Lady Bird Johnson, Kitt replied, “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons … and send them off to war. The children of America aren’t rebelling for no reason.” Her comments caused the First Lady to burst into tears, and derailed Kitt’s career.

Kitt’s membership in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and her open criticism of the Vietnam War, with its connection to poverty and racial unrest, was just a small part of her passionate activism. She established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a non-profit for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles. She spoke at a House Subcommittee on Education in support of the DC youth group, “Rebels With A Cause,” praising their work to clean up streets and establish safe recreation areas. Kitt later became a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she considered a civil right.

Like many politically active public figures of her time, Kitt came under government surveillance. After The New York Times discovered her CIA file, she allowed the paper to print portions, stating, “I have nothing to be afraid of and I have nothing to hide.”

This episode of “Soundtrack to the Struggle” was co-written by Hollis Monroe and Ron Adkins. Produced by Ron Adkins. Hosted by Hollis Monroe.

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It’s 1906 in Harlem. The first sparks of a cultural explosion have just ignited. Artists, writers, musicians, and composers are flocking to this city-in-a-city. One of them is Carl Van Vechten. Who could have predicted that the Harlem Renaissance’s greatest advocate and chronicler would be a young white man from Cedar Rapids, Iowa?

Carl Van Vechten’s passion for music and literature served him well as a critic for the New York Times. It allowed him access to the best new books and the trendiest shows. Carl soon discovered that the best new work was being created by the Black community, and the hippest place to be was Harlem. He introduced readers to songwriter W.C. Handy and the poetry of Langston Hughes.

Most nights found him prowling the Harlem cabarets, or inviting the whole troupe back to his mid-town Manhattan home. Bessie Smith was an honored guest, treating the party to thunderous performances. Throughout his life, Van Vechten remained a staunch champion of Black American culture – in his opinion, the true American culture. Said one biographer, Van Vechten was a “prophet of a new cultural sensibility and racial tolerance and dared to put the blues on a par with Beethoven.”

This episode of “Soundtrack to the Struggle” was written and produced by Ron Adkins and hosted by Hollis Monroe. 

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