R.I.P. Lena Horne, 1917-2010

From TBT: The Magazine.

Last night, the world was shocked, but it did not really sink in until this morning. The legendary Lena Horne died yesterday at the age of 92 years old. Without Lena Horne paving the way during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, there would be no Halle Berry or Mary J. Blige.

When speaking of the Civil Rights Movement, Lena Horne is often looked over. She did not march and protest with many other leaders. However, she was a trail blazer in the entertainment field. During the 1940s, it was assumed that black people could only play in certain roles.

Aside from the music sang during slavery, white people thought that black people were incapable of making music. Lena Horne proved all of those ideas wrong. It took a lot of nerve to do what she did. There were people hateful enough to kill when they saw a black person doing what she was doing.

With death being a possibility and at such a young age, Lena Horne kept on going until black entertainment was accepted. Before the day that she died, she was able to see just how popular black entertainment has become since she first began singing and acting. Horne, herself, credited her success to the idea that both black and white people liked her. It was known that she was a black woman, but because of her being light-skinned, she was relatively popular with some white people, as well as most black people.

During her 92 years on Earth, Lena Horne provided a lot of firsts for the black community. She was one of the first black people, male or female, to sing with a white band. Aside from that, Horne was the first black person to ever perform at the Copacabana nightclub. Horne was also one of only a few black people to have a contract in Hollywood. In 1943, she landed a role in the Stormy Weather film. She also sang the title song and that song became the fixture of her music career.

Even with all of the accomplishments made by Lena Horne, she said that her true pride came in 2002, when Halle Berry won her first Academy Award. In her acceptance speech, she credited Lena Horne for paving the way for her. Halle Berry winning her award was a testament to all of the work put in by Horne. That, and her acknowledging the fact, proved that all of her work was not done in vain. With many other black women who act or record music, or both, the legacy of Lena Horne will live on forever. Sadly, Lena Horne will not.

Lena Horne, may you rest in peace. June 30, 1917-May 9, 2010.

Read the original article at TBT: The Magazine.