Here's hoping that folks find this compilation of performer, writer, and activist Fredi Washington's World War II era columns from the People's Voice useful. Take some time to get to know Washington by reading Laurie Woodard's brilliant introduction!
Terrific article on Hazel Scott by biographer Karen Chilton. In 1950, Scott brought a successful lawsuit against a restaurant near Spokane, Washington, where she and a traveling companion had been denied service, the waitress told them, “because they were Negroes.”[fn]“Hazel Scott Attorneys Score in Initial Round,” Spokane Daily Chronicle, April 17, 1950.
Belafonte talks about how difficult it was for politically engaged performers of the era to voice their opinions and beliefs. Despite this, Lena Horne wrote outspoken articles about racism in media for the Harlem newspaper, The People's Voice, like the one below:
