Black History is American history and by failing to remember the good and the bad…future generations lose momentum…

Being multifaceted and multi-talented during the era that Lena Horne was born into came with advantages and disadvantages. A natural beauty, Horne could sing, dance, and act but if you look back over her career, she is most noted for her Jazz singing and performances. This is because Hollywood was not ready to feature Black women prominently and Horne refused to do demeaning roles. This made her choices extrememly limited and in some of the films that she did receive parts for, her scenes would be cut out before shown to White audiences. Yet, Horne persisted and resisted. She was a very prominent Civil Rights activists working with Paul Robeson, Malcom X and she supported Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her associations also contributed to her challenges with Hollywood and mainstream television but she was determined to fight for equality and rights for Black people. Lena Horne’s career spanned 70 years and she died at the age of 92 in 2010. When we think of the Hollywood greats or TV personalities, Lena Horne’s name probably won’t come to mind but it should. For every success we see today, there was someone just as gifted if not even more talented who came before them to pave the way.

#BlackHistoryMonth
#LenaHorne
#BlackandBeautiful
#ShePersisted
#SomeoneWasDeniedForYouToAchieve