Lena Horne Research Paper

Lena Horne was an African American entertainer and civil rights activist, born in Brooklyn, New York. She, like many other African Americans in general, and African American women in particular, born in 1910’s, saw many evolutions of race and racialized gender relations in America. She was able to transition to glory at the ripe age of 92 years old, passing away from congestive heart failure in 2010. Lena Horne’s height of her career, while predating Womanism being named but not actualized, embodies the four tenets that are, radical subjectivity, critical engagement, redemptive self-love and traditional communalism, by way of her commitments to hope in perilous times. She is quoted saying many things that will be highlighted in this paper,

While she was of mixed descent and fair hue of skin, this did not shield her from the social realities of her time. As a high school dropout, Lena Horne needed to help her family and realized that she had an amazing voice that would provide for her and her loved ones. However, providing was not enough, she decided to cultivate an ethic around her production of gift that would challenge society's status quo, racism and racialized sexism.
At 16 years old, Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood. Lena Horne is most well known for her roles in the musical films, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. She reflected on this time with saying “In every other film I just sang a song or two; the scenes could be cut out when they were sent to local distributors in the South. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much of a chance to act, Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather were the only movies in which I played a character who was involved in the plot.” She also played in many television shows all while releasing numerous albums. The most meaningful role Lena Horne played in my childhood was in The Wiz singing Believe in Yourself. Lena Horne was awarded four of seven Grammy

Lena Horne was blacklisted from Hollywood due to her activism and ideological affiliations, which had little bearings if at all, on any her contacts with recording labels. She describes her time blacklisted “I told them I belong to the same organizations and clubs Mrs. Roosevelt belongs to, but with a few brave exceptions, I was still unable to do films or television for the next seven years.” Much of her being blacklisted is attributed to her well known friendship, Paul Robeson, an African American Bass player heavily involved with social justice movements. Unlike many others, Horne’s great fame could not shield her. It was the means in which they attacked her professionally and personally. Her civil rights activism and friendship with Robeson and others marked her as a Communist sympathizer which was seen as professional