On the first day of 2018 I wrote here about racism, having just returned from Charleston, SC, my head filled with echoes of slavery and the Civil War. Little did I know – although I should have anticipated it – how much contemporary racism would unfold in this year. On top of misogyny, xenophobia, nationalism and a general decay of all things ethical, mind you.

As a counterbalance, on this last day of the year, I want to focus on the strength that women bring to the fight against racism (and misogyny.) I picked three examples, one from the (recent) past, one that will hopefully shine a light into the future and one that appears in today’s photographs taken at Frida Kahlo’s house in CDMX. She was another strong woman fighting for change, equality and justice, a woman who also marched to the beat of her own drummer.

Meet Hazel Scott. Born in Trinidad, she was a piano prodigy at age 3. After she moved to NYC, her talent, personality and sheer willpower opened many doors for her. Trained at Julliard starting at age 8, she eventually became a renowned jazz musician, singer and, for a short time, movie star. “Short time” because she was blacklisted after having forced the Hollywood studio to change the wardrobe of her Black female colleagues in the movies from dirty aprons to nice dresses by going on strike during filming.

She married Adam Clayton Powell, the first African-American Congressman elected in NY, had the first ever TV show of a Black woman, only to be dragged before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the McCarthy era. It effectively killed her career, and eventually she moved to Europe, only to return after the Civil Rights Act was installed. She died in NYC of cancer at age 61.

I picked her because even though the political system was able to deliver destructive blows to her, she was a fighter who never backed down. Even as a still unknown musician she refused to appear on stage in segregated venues. She fought for civil liberties at work and at home, successfully suing restaurants that refused to serve her, for example. Her TV show focused on civil rights as well, so it’s no wonder it was rapidly canceled…She was political throughout her life, unafraid and sharing her material resources with the cause.

The link below (with cool historical footage) gives you a quick glance at her life and musical performance. Jazzing up the Classics was her trade mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=79&v=o_WJ4PpxWaE 

My contemporary example is Stacey Abrams, who gave a quick TED talk shortly after she lost in the 2018 midterm elections, due in large part to lingering, at times explicit racism, as I see it. In the talk she points to three questions that guide her decision making and keep her going: What do I want? Why do I want it? And how do I get it?  She answers these questions for herself, (change and justice topping her with list) and also addresses the common obstacles that tend to get in our way.

How to pursue a goal and become an agent of change seems a lesson worth learning to be prepared for 2019. Happy New Year!