Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this day in 1929, in Atlanta. A soft-spoken man, conservatively-dressed in suit and tie, a Baptist minister, a believer in common ground and non-violence, King still managed to upset a lot of people. White people accustomed to the Jim Crow traditions of the South felt threatened by him. Even so, his protests were more like walks than marches. They sang hymns.
Martin preached the part in the Bible about turning the other cheek, about answering violence with gentle but firm persistence, even when the police got out the fire department's water cannons. He didn't believe in giving in though. Gentle firm persistence was met with more violence. J. Edgar Hoover set the FBI onto him to destroy his reputation. King was eventually murdered like others in the civil rights movement had been.
He came to national attention in 1955 after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery Alabama bus. King led the bus boycott that followed. He was 26. In 1963 he delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and died in 1968 at the age of 39. Martin Luther King Jr. appears four times in A Book of Ages.
Showing posts with label African American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African American. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Lena Horne
Jazz singer and film actress Lena Horne was born on this day in 1917, into an upper middle class black family in Brooklyn. When she was 16 she joined the chorus line at the Cotton Club in Harlem, and within the year became a featured performer. She sang with Charlie Barnet's big band in 1940-41, but disliked the travel required and soon began singing on the NBC radio network out of New York.
In 1942 she headed to the West Coast, where she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was 25. Her contract stipulated that she would not perform in stereotyped roles, making parts hard to come by. Features that included black and white performers were already banned from some states, making her career prospects problematic. The same difficulty presented itself when she performed with bands, especially bands comprised of white and black musicians; she and Billie Holiday both sang with Artie Shaw's band during this period. Her mixture of African American, Caucasian and Native American ancestry didn't make it any easier for her to get the part of the mixed race heroine Julie in MGM's 1951 filming of Showboat; the part went to her friend Ava Gardner, who modeled her performance on Horne's recordings of the songs.
In the sixties and seventies Lena Horne became a perennial guest star on television variety shows, and a popular night club performer. Then in 1981, at age 63, she opened a one-woman show on Broadway. It ran for 333 performances; the longest running solo show in Broadway history. She won her fourth Grammy in 1996, at age 79. Lena Horne appears five times in A Book of Ages.
In 1942 she headed to the West Coast, where she signed a long term contract with MGM. She was 25. Her contract stipulated that she would not perform in stereotyped roles, making parts hard to come by. Features that included black and white performers were already banned from some states, making her career prospects problematic. The same difficulty presented itself when she performed with bands, especially bands comprised of white and black musicians; she and Billie Holiday both sang with Artie Shaw's band during this period. Her mixture of African American, Caucasian and Native American ancestry didn't make it any easier for her to get the part of the mixed race heroine Julie in MGM's 1951 filming of Showboat; the part went to her friend Ava Gardner, who modeled her performance on Horne's recordings of the songs.
In the sixties and seventies Lena Horne became a perennial guest star on television variety shows, and a popular night club performer. Then in 1981, at age 63, she opened a one-woman show on Broadway. It ran for 333 performances; the longest running solo show in Broadway history. She won her fourth Grammy in 1996, at age 79. Lena Horne appears five times in A Book of Ages.
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