"What people tend not to fully comprehend today is what Lena Horne did to transform the image of the African American woman in Hollywood." Donald Bogle, film historian at NYU and U of Penn.
Lena Horne, an entertainment and political activist trail-blazer has died at the age of 92 in New York. May she be remembered for prying numerous doors open-- in both popular culture and politics-- because she believed it was the right thing to do regardless of the consequences to her own career.
Ms. Horne also played a role in helping my generation growing up in North America to learn our ABCs.
Beyond her influential performance portfolio, I suspect her steadfast commitment and dedication to racial equality and her willingness to expose institutional as well as overt instances of racism for the purposes of promoting social justice will be greatly missed. Today, there simply are no longer celebrities--and very few activists--with the spirit of Lena Horne.
Detailed retrospectives are available at the washingtonpost.com, guardian.co.uk, and politic365.com.
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