Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, as Freda Josephine McDonald where she had a very rough beginning. She dropped out of school at age 12 and had two failed marriages at ages 13 and 15.  Then she joined a vaudeville troupe that took her to New York City. She later became part of a show, Shuffle Along in the chorus line. This would be one of the first steps to her success.

She used comedy to make herself stand out in the chorus line, and later launch a career that sent her overseas because prejudice limited what she could accomplish in the United States. In Paris she became a success which led to a career that spanned all over Europe.  Some have called her the first Beyonce in that she starred in theater and movies in France and became a standout star.

She did not limit her life to performance, during World War II she became a spy for the French Resistance and later received a medal for her work. In the 1950s became active in the Civil Rights Movement traveling throughout the southern part of the United States. Ever the humanitarian, she also adopted 12 children from around the world and raise them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, as Freda Josephine McDonald where she had a very rough beginning. She dropped out of school at age 12 and had two failed marriages at ages 13 and 15.  Then she joined a vaudeville troupe that took her to New York City. She later became part of a show, Shuffle Along in the chorus line. This would be one of the first steps to her success.

She used comedy to make herself stand out in the chorus line, and later launch a career that sent her overseas because prejudice limited what she could accomplish in the United States. In Paris she became a success which led to a career that spanned all over Europe.  She did a dance in a banana skirt. Some have called her the first Beyonce in that she starred in theater and movies in France and became a standout star.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, as Freda Josephine McDonald where she had a very rough beginning. She dropped out of school at age 12 and had two failed marriages at ages 13 and 15.  Then she joined a vaudeville troupe that took her to New York City. She later became part of a show, Shuffle Along in the chorus line. This would be one of the first steps to her success.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker

Amanda Aldridge

Amanda Aldridge was born in Upper Norwood, London on March 10 in 1866. She was the third child of African-American actor Ira Frederick Aldridge and his second wife, Amanda Brandt, who was Swedish. She had two sisters, Rachael and Luranah, and two brothers, Ira Daniel and Ira Frederick.  She studied voice under Jenny Lind and George Henschel at the Royal College of Music in London, and harmony and counterpoint with Frederick Bridge and Francis Edward Gladstone.

Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and a voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925.

Her notable students included African-American performers Roland Hayes, Lawrence Benjamin Brown, Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, and Bermudian-British actor Earl Cameron.

At the age of 88, Aldridge made her first television appearance in the British show Music For You, where Muriel Smith sang Montague Ring’s “Little Southern Love Song”. After a short illness, she died in London on 9 March 1956, a day before her 90th birthday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Aldridge

Amanda Aldridge

Amanda Aldridge was born in Upper Norwood, London on March 10 in 1866. She was the third child of African-American actor Ira Frederick Aldridge and his second wife, Amanda Brandt, who was Swedish. She had two sisters, Rachael and Luranah, and two brothers, Ira Daniel and Ira Frederick.  She studied voice under Jenny Lind and George Henschel at the Royal College of Music in London, and harmony and counterpoint with Frederick Bridge and Francis Edward Gladstone.

Aldridge worked as a concert singer, piano accompanist, and a voice teacher. A throat condition ended her concert appearances, and she turned to teaching and published about thirty songs between the years 1907 and 1925.

Her notable students included African-American performers Roland Hayes, Lawrence Benjamin Brown, Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, and Bermudian-British actor Earl Cameron.

At the age of 88, Aldridge made her first television appearance in the British show Music For You, where Muriel Smith sang Montague Ring’s “Little Southern Love Song”. After a short illness, she died in London on 9 March 1956, a day before her 90th birthday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Aldridge

Ira Aldridge

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born in New York City on July 24, 1807. At the age of 13, he went to the African Free School in New York City, established by the New-York Manumission Society for the children of free black people and slaves. They were given a classical education, with the study of English grammar, writing, mathematics, geography, and astronomy.

Aldridge’s first professional acting experience was in the early 1820s with the African Company, a group founded and managed by William Henry Brown and James Hewlett. In 1821, the group built the African Grove Theatre, the first resident African-American theatre in the United States. The short-lived company was the subject of protests by neighbors, attacks by a rival company.

Facing discrimination in America, he left in 1824 for England and made his debut at London’s Royal Coburg Theatre. As his career grew, his performances of Shakespeare’s classics eventually met with critical acclaim and he subsequently became the manager of Coventry’s Theatre Royal. From 1852, Aldridge regularly toured much of Continental Europe and received top honours from several heads of state.

In 1865 he married his second wife Amanda von Brandt with whom he had children, Irene, Ira, Amanda and Rachael.  All but Rachael went on to have careers in music. Rachael died in infancy. Aldridge was known as a British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Aldridge

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born in New York City on July 24, 1807. At the age of 13, he went to the African Free School in New York City, established by the New-York Manumission Society for the children of free black people and slaves. They were given a classical education, with the study of English grammar, writing, mathematics, geography, and astronomy.

Aldridge’s first professional acting experience was in the early 1820s with the African Company, a group founded and managed by William Henry Brown and James Hewlett. In 1821, the group built the African Grove Theatre, the first resident African-American theatre in the United States. The short-lived company was the subject of protests by neighbors, attacks by a rival company.

Facing discrimination in America, he left in 1824 for England and made his debut at London’s Royal Coburg Theatre. As his career grew, his performances of Shakespeare’s classics eventually met with critical acclaim and he subsequently became the manager of Coventry’s Theatre Royal. From 1852, Aldridge regularly toured much of Continental Europe and received top honours from several heads of state. Aldridge was known as a British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Aldridge

Nzinga Mbande was born into the ruling family of Ndongo in 1583 in Central West Africa. Nzinga received military and political training as a child, and she also became an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. She was a Southwest African ruler who ruled as queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (1624–1663) and Matamba (1631–1663), located in present-day northern Angola.

She was the daughter of Ngola Kilombo of Ndongo. Her mother, Kengela ka Nkombe, was one of her father’s slave wives and his favorite concubine. According to legend, the birthing process was very difficult for Kengela, her mother; Njinga received her name because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck (the Kimbundu verb kujinga means to twist or turn).

Children of the royal household who survived difficult or unusual births were believed to possess spiritual gifts, and some saw their births as an indicator the person would grow to become a powerful and proud person. Njinga had two sisters, Kambu, or Lady Barbara and Funji, or Lady Grace. She also had a brother, Mbandi, who was heir apparent to throne.

The Portuguese first came to Ndongo in 1575 when they established a trading post in Luanda. By the 1580s, large parts of Ndongo had fallen under Portuguese control, who burned villages and took hostages who later turned into slaves. Nzinga’s father, Ngola Kilombo Kia Kasenda became the king of Ndongo in 1583. He had a difficult time fighting the Portuguese  and other local kingdoms who tried to take over.

As an ambassador, Nzinga tried to negotiate peace with the Portuguese. She demanded that Portugal remove the forts built inside Ndongan territory and was adamant that Ndongo would not pay tribute to Portugal, noting that only conquered peoples paid tribute and her people had not been defeated. As a power play, the Portuguese would not give her a chair during negotiations. Members of her party would form a human chair so that she was always on the same level as her counterparts.

Nzinga assumed power over Ndongo after the death of her father and brother, who both served as kings, and she went on to conquer Matamba. To weaken the Portuguese colonial administration, Nzinga dispatched messengers (makunzes) to encourage Mbande slaves to flee Portuguese plantations and join her kingdom. This strengthen her kingdom as the escapees joined her kingdom.

She ruled during a period of rapid growth in the African slave trade by the Portuguese Empire in South West Africa. Nzinga fought for the independence of her kingdoms against the Portuguese in a reign that lasted 37 years. She died in 1663.

She is remembered  as the Mother of Angola, the fighter of negotiations. Statues were made in her honor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzinga_of_Ndongo_and_Matamba

Nzinga Mbande was born into the ruling family of Ndongo in 1583 in Central West Africa. Nzinga received military and political training as a child, and she also became an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. She was a Southwest African ruler who ruled as queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (1624–1663) and Matamba (1631–1663), located in present-day northern Angola.

She was the daughter of Ngola Kilombo of Ndongo. Her mother, Kengela ka Nkombe, was one of her father’s slave wives and his favorite concubine. According to legend, the birthing process was very difficult for Kengela, her mother; Njinga received her name because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck (the Kimbundu verb kujinga means to twist or turn).

Children of the royal household who survived difficult or unusual births were believed to possess spiritual gifts, and some saw their births as an indicator the person would grow to become a powerful and proud person. Njinga had two sisters, Kambu, or Lady Barbara and Funji, or Lady Grace. She also had a brother, Mbandi, who was heir apparent to throne.

The Portuguese first came to Ndongo in 1575 when they established a trading post in Luanda. By the 1580s, large parts of Ndongo had fallen under Portuguese control, who burned villages and took hostages who later turned into slaves. Nzinga’s father, Ngola Kilombo Kia Kasenda became the king of Ndongo in 1583. He had a difficult time fighting the Portuguese  and other local kingdoms who tried to take over.

As an ambassador, Nzinga tried to negotiate peace with the Portuguese. She demanded that Portugal remove the forts built inside Ndongan territory and was adamant that Ndongo would not pay tribute to Portugal, noting that only conquered peoples paid tribute and her people had not been defeated. As a power play, the Portuguese would not give her a chair during negotiations. Members of her party would form a human chair so that she was always on the same level as her counterparts.

Nzinga assumed power over Ndongo after the death of her father and brother, who both served as kings, and she went on to conquer Matamba. She ruled during a period of rapid growth in the African slave trade by the Portuguese Empire in South West Africa. Nzinga fought for the independence of her kingdoms against the Portuguese in a reign that lasted 37 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzinga_of_Ndongo_and_Matamba