Alberta Hunter worked hard and long to grow her reputation. She was a prodigious songwriter and that included writing Bessie Smith's first big hit, "Downhearted Blues."
My grandmother Lydia was slightly younger than Alberta but told great stories about the vaudeville circuit and confirmed the issues of skin colour that were always thrown at Alberta. Lydia played the piano, sang and maintained her love of music and the theatre although she did not perform as she got older. We saw many shows and plays together and seeing Alberta Hunter together at the Cookery was one of the best memories of my life.
Doing research for the play it was heartbreaking to read how such a significantly talented person such as Alberta was, as they say, "damned with faint praise." Critics-black and white-who said she could sing 'despite her dusky appearance' set a certain standard for women of colour. And the less colour the better.
My grandmother who was part Ioway and Wampanoag Indian said she was often the darkest woman on the chorus line. African American women dancers had to be light and bright even when dancing on the 'Negro' theatre circuit. When the June Taylor Dancers of Jackie Gleason fame finally hired a woman of colour she was as light as the white dancers so she wouldn't be noticed (and break the symmetry of the line they said). The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall are now figuring out they are in the 21st Century!
The dominant culture's obsession with homogeneity remains true today. When you look at films the skin tone of the African American male can be as varied as it is in nature. However, casting directors for films, photo shoots and television still see the beauty in African American women only when they can pass the 'paper bag test,' meaning their skin tone is lighter than a supermarket brown paper bag!
"Leaving the Blues," my play about Alberta Hunter, explores this sad and insulting perspective that has damaged so many of us. Read Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' or 'Negroland' a memoir by Margo Jefferson or 'Don't Play in the Sun' by Marita Golden or a long list of books, mostly by African American women, who have observed and/or suffered from this ignorance. And it is not just African Americans-almost everywhere you go--from China to Cuba--you can see the subtle and not so subtle colourism.
Celebrating the full spectrum of our existence has been my life's joy whether it's skin colour, sexuality, gender, or diverse cultures. Don't waste time on a narrow view of what's beautiful when you can have the world.
"Leaving the Blues opens at The Flea produced by TOSOS.
Seats available January 15-February 8th www.tososnyc.org
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