She was maybe the most famous entertainer of her era. A Jazz Age icon.
The first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, 1927βs Siren of the Tropics.
A stone cold gorgeous KNOCKOUT.
Civil rights pioneer. She refused to sing for segregated audiences.
She renounced her U.S. citizenship (born in St Louis, MO) and moved to France, π«π· where she became an incredibly successful spy for the Allies during WWII and was eventually a key figure in the Resistance movement against Franceβs Nazi occupiers.
She holds the Resistance Medal, Croix de Guerre, was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and eventually inducted into the Pantheon, the first Black woman so named.
Beautiful.
Brave.
Badass.
Why arenβt we all wearing her t-shirt or putting her stamp on our letters or watching one of 50 biopics about her?
Give this legend her flowers FFS.π
