Lena Horne left school at 16 to help support her family. She became a dancer at Harlem’s Cotton Club was soon a sought-after performer – a role she would maintain throughout her life. A long run at the Savoy-Plaza boosted Horne’s career even further. She was featured in Life magazine, and listed as the highest-paid Black entertainer of the day.
MGM signed Horne to a seven-year contract, but not before she demanded (with some assistance from her father and the NAACP) that she not play industry-standard roles, like domestic workers, that stereotyped African-American women. This was a controversial stance, but her convictions paid off. She appeared in legendary films like Cabin In The Sky and Stormy Weather.
By the end of the 1940s, Horne had sued a number of restaurants and theaters for discrimination. She became an outspoken member of the leftist group, Progressive Citizens of America. McCarthyism swept Hollywood, and Horne found herself, and friend Paul Robeson, blacklisted. It didn’t stop her career, though. She found work in posh nightclubs and on TV, and sang extensively in Europe. The ban eased by the mid-1950s, and Horne was as popular as ever. Her albums, “Feelin’ Good” and “Lena In Hollywood,” were hits.
Horne continued to use her fame on behalf of the NAACP, the National Council for Negro Women, and the Civil Rights Movement. She was a vocal participant at the 1963 March on Washington, and she lifted her voice for the voiceless until her death in 2010.
“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green. Written and hosted by Hollis Monroe.
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It’s 1967, and singer and actress Nichelle Nichols attends a fund-raiser for the NAACP. A man approaches and says, “Ms. Nichols, I’m your greatest fan.” That fan was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During their chat, Nichols confides her plans to leave her current TV gig for a career on Broadway. King was mortified. “You can’t leave Star Trek,” he said. “You’re a part of history. You aren’t cast as a servant. You play a Black woman in authority. You’re a role model for women and Negroes everywhere.” Nichols took Dr. King’s words to heart, and stayed with the show. She made TV history again when, as part of an episode, she took part in television’s first interracial kiss.
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.
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.
