Happy Birthday, Eartha Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008)🎈
She was a singer, actress, dancer, comedian, activist, author, and songwriter known for her highly distinctive singing style.
📸: Photos licensed from Johnson Publishing Company.
#blackwomenradicals
She was a singer, actress, dancer, comedian, activist, author, and songwriter known for her highly distinctive singing style.
📸: Photos licensed from Johnson Publishing Company.
#blackwomenradicals
“Eartha Mae Keith was born on a cotton plantation near the small town of North, South Carolina, or St. Matthews on January 17, 1927.”
“After the death of her mother, Eartha was sent to live with another relative named Mamie Kitt in Harlem, New York City, where she attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later renamed the High School of Performing Arts).”
“Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical Carib Song. In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 hits, including "Uska Dara" and "I Want to Be Evil".
“Her other notable recordings include the UK Top 10 hit "Under the Bridges of Paris" (1954), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl" (1956) and "Where Is My Man" (1983). She starred in 1967 as Catwoman, in the third and final season of the television series Batman.”
“In January 1968, during Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon.”
“Kitt was asked by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War. She replied: "You send the best of this country off to be shot & maimed. No wonder the kids rebel & take pot."
📸: Kitt talks to Lady Bird Johnson at the White House shortly (Bettman Archives).
📸: Kitt talks to Lady Bird Johnson at the White House shortly (Bettman Archives).
“Her remarks caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears and led to a derailment in Kitt's career. Following the incident, Kitt found herself unemployable, so she devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia.“
“It is said that Kitt's career in the United States was ended following her comments about the Vietnam War, after which she was branded "a sadistic nymphomaniac" by the CIA.”
“Her government-led blacklisting was enshrined in a false and defamatory CIA dossier about Kitt discovered by Seymour Hersh in 1975.”
“Kitt was active in numerous social causes in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, she established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a chartered and non-profit organization for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles.”
“She was also involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., who called themselves "Rebels with a Cause".”
“Kitt was also a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; her criticism of the Vietnam War and its connection to poverty and racial unrest in 1968 can be seen as part of a larger commitment to peace activism.”
“Kitt later became a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she considered a civil right.”
