Before Beyoncé, these Black women were living loud, loving who they wanted, and refusing to apologize.
The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in clothes, recreational activities, and bed partners. Blues singers disseminated a Black feminism that celebrated emotional resilience and sexual pleasure, no matter the source.
Production
Rare archival footage brings vanished world alive.
Writing
Jewelle Gomez's narration drips with knowing authority.
Director
Robert Philipson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Pansy Craze' of 1920s Harlem created rare public space for queer performance, making these divas both entertainers and activists by simply existing.
Director Robert Philipson deliberately chose Jewelle Gomez—a queer Black feminist author—to narrate, ensuring the story stayed in community hands rather than academic distance.
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