And Lena's Star Shines On...

By Olga Hill/ Tell Us Detroit

“I’m not alone, I’m free. I no longer have to be a credit, I don’t have to be a symbol to anybody; I don’t have to be a first to anybody.” -Lena Horne

Lena Horne, will be remembered for being a timeless beauty with classic style, grace and for her authentic performances of “Stormy Weather,” and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” but I invite you to look beyond the voice that’s probably being played throughout the world after hearing of her passing on Sunday, May 10th and truly explore her plight of being a black woman during a time in history when envisioning an African American president would have been unimaginable or an African American actress being acknowledged for an Oscar winning performance would have been absurd.

A voice with a sultry musical range like Horne’s... it is no wonder why she holds a special place in American music culture. During a time when Whites were still uncomfortable dining in the same restaurants as blacks,  a time when blacks were forced to use the back entrance and treated like second class citizens, what made this fair skinned colored girl from New York, able to break down some of the race barriers?



“I was unique in that I was the kind of black that white people could accept. I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked.” It might have been looks that got Lena an invitation to walk through the door but once she stepped into the white male dominated showbiz industry she still experienced discrimination and prejudices of that time.

Yes, Horne was in a small league of black performers allowed to get a glimpse or slice of success. In the 1940’s she was one of the first black performers to sing with a major white band, to play the Copacabana nightclub in New York City and when signed with MGM, she was one of few blacks that had a contract with a major Hollywood studio.



She starred in the all black movie musical, “Cabin in the Sky,” but in most movies she appeared only in musical scenes that could be omitted if being viewed by southern audiences. Talented and proven Horne was still offered roles that portrayed blacks as subservient to whites. She refused these stereotypical roles which caused conflict between some of her fellow black colleagues. When the role of, Julie, a young beautiful songstress, in the movie “Show Boat,” came about Horne seemed a perfect fit, however, white actress Ava Gardner was awarded the part even though she could not even sing.

Horne’s fair skinned toned was always a topic of discussion. Whether it was blacks accusing Horne of trying to pass for white or film executives trying to pass her as being an exotic Latina, it’s not clear if she ever questioned who she was as some point in her career. “My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman,” said Horne.


"I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become," Horne once said. "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else."

Horne’s grandmother was an prominent member of the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and enlisted Horne at two-years of age but Horne did become an activist until 1945 while performing at Fort Reilly Kansas during World War II and saw German prisoners of war being seated in front of black American soldiers. She immediately left the stage and filed a complaint at the local NAACP office. MGM pulled her off the tour and she retaliated by spending her own money to continue to travel and entertain the troops.

Horne joined with Eleanor Roosevelt in her quest for anti-lynching legislation. After the war, she used her time to fight discrimination against Japanese Americans facing discrimination.



By the 1960’s Horne would be one of the most visible celebrities in the Civil Rights Movement. She lended her support to Martin Luther King, Jr., child –hood friend Paul Robeson and Medgar Evers. Because of her stand on equality and freedom for all she was soon black-listed during the McCarthy but continued to focus on her musical career.

Like another famous balladeer and activist would say, Horne did it her way. Horne’s career span lasted over six decades and came to an end May 10th 2010 at New York- Presbyterian/ Weil Medical Center at the age of 92. She learned, lived, acted, acted out, sang, fought, and united and to me that’a life worth admiring. “It’s so nice to get flowers while you can still smell the fragrance.”- Lena Horne