You might know “Summertime”, a unique hit found on Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald’s 1958 album “Porgy and Bess”. Ella Fitzgerald, nicknamed First Lady in Song had an outstanding voice so it was hard for venues to turn her down on the basis of her race. Her mother Tempie, passed away when she was 15. Fitzgerald took her chance when she won a drawing at the Apollo Theater in 1934. She launched her career that night, and few years later found herself playing with Dizzy Gillespie’s band. Norman Ganz, her manager did not tolerate racism. He took off “White Only” signs wherever the band toured. Fitzgerald was constantly harassed, turned down by clubs, forced off a plane in Australia in order to provide more seats for white patrons. Although Fitzgerald was not politically involved, she opened the gates for future young African Americans with her confidence and resilience. In 1975, the NAACP presented Fitzgerald with the President’s Award.
“Get Out” and “Us”
Jordan Peele’s movie creations including “Get Out” in 2017 and chilling tale of doppelgangers “Us” released just weeks ago both star black families. The movies are not similar plot-wise, “Get Out” alludes to systemic racism still lurking in the present day. In “Us” however, the main character Adelaide finds her doppelganger, who comes back to haunt her thirty years later. The foundation of the plot for this movie is based on Hands Across America movement, a real event that occurred in 1986. Adelaide is played by actor Lupita Nyong’o (also in “12 Years A Slave”) is shown as a resilient, and strong mother. The progression of her character throughout movie is worth noting. Her doppelganger (Red) thinks and acts the same way she does, but towards the end of movie Adelaide becomes increasingly more violent than Red. Instead of being portrayed as a stay at home mother who depends on her husband, Adelaide is the main character, and it is she who faces Red alone in the amusement park. By the end, the audience can clearly see the sympathy, pain and love for their kin instilled in both characters, above and below ground.