Today In Black History
Hazel Scott, Musician, Actress, and Activist Extraordinaire
Issue #573 Today In Black History, Friday, April 19, 2024
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Today’s Black History WOW!
Hazel Scott was born on June 11, 1920, in Port of Spain, Trinidad on June 11, 1920. She was the only child of R. Thomas Scott, a West African scholar from England, and Alma Long Scott, a classically trained pianist and saxophonist.
After her parents separated, Scott moved with her mother and grandmother to New York City in 1924. Scott's mother played in several all-women bands to earn a living, which allowed Scott to learn from a variety of musical greats such as Art Tatum, Lester Young, and Fats Waller.
Her mother’s musical connections made it possible for Scott to audition for the prestigious Juilliard School of Music at the unheard-of age of eight (students were supposed to be 16). Scott’s rendition of Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” convinced Professor Oscar Wagner of Scott’s “genius” and he arranged a scholarship so that he could instruct her privately.
By the time she was a teenager, Scott was performing professionally throughout the city. At the age of 15, Scott made her individual stage debut opposite Count Basie’s big band in New York City. She won a local competition to host her own radio show and, in 1938, made her Broadway debut in the musical revue Sing Out the News. Despite her demanding musical career, Scott graduated high school with honors.
It was her 1939 performances at the integrated jazz hotspot Café Society in Greenwich Village that pushed Scott’s career to the next level. She would begin by playing familiar classical pieces, then would improvise, adding jazzy runs and flourishes to their melodies. She was especially famous for playing two pianos at the same time while turning her body from one piano to the other on a swivel stool.
She was a talented singer as well, possessing a vibrant and full-bodied voice. Her “Bach to Boogie” recordings on the Signature and Decca labels broke sales records.
Scott moved to Los Angeles and signed with RKO, a major movie studio, where she turned down offers to play “singing maids.” She instead appeared as herself in five films, a sophisticated woman with immense musical talents, and insisted on the appropriate credit: “Hazel Scott as Herself.” She also called for pay equal to that of her white counterparts.
In addition to her musical talents, Scott was also a talented actress and made her film debut in the 1943 musical "The Heat's On." She went on to star in several other films and television shows, including "Rhapsody in Blue" and "The Hazel Scott Show." Scott was one of the first African American women to have her own television show, where she showcased her musical talents and charisma to a wide audience. By 1945, she was attracting large audiences and earning today’s equivalent of over one million dollars per year.
In 1945, Scott returned to New York City from Hollywood and married the recently divorced preacher and politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., the first African American elected to Congress from New York. Scott gave birth to their son, Adam Clayton Powell III, in 1946.
Hazel Scott and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. formally divorced in 1960, after separating in the late 1950s. Scott moved to Paris in 1957 and joined the Black expatriate community there. Her home became a gathering place for African-American musicians and artists.
Hazel Scott moved back to the United States, performing in small clubs and taking various TV roles. She passed away from pancreatic cancer on October 2, 1981, just two months after her final performance.
Today In Black History
In 1775, Lemuel Haynes and other Black soldiers joined their white counterparts with the “Shot Heard Round the World” to fight the British at Concord and Lexington in Massachusetts.
In 1837, Cheyney State College was founded in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, as the Institute for Colored Youth, a school for Black males.
In 1910, the National Urban League was formed in New York City.
In 1960, Major General Frederick E. Davidson became the first Black person to lead an army division when he assumed command of the Eighth Infantry Division in Germany.
In 1971, Walter Fauntroy became the first African American elected to Congress from the District of Columbia since Reconstruction.
In 1971, the African nation of Sierra Leone became a republic.
In 1989, five Black and brown teenagers, known as the Central Park Five, were wrongfully convicted of a violent rape of a white woman. Donald Trump took out full-page ads in NYC newspapers calling for their execution. The teens spent between 6 - 12 years in prison before being found not guilty and becoming the Exonerated Five.
In 1994, Rodney King was awarded $3,800,000 compensation by Los Angeles County for his police beating.
In 2003, Nina Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute of Music of Philadelphia.
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