She did it her way.
Lena Horne, the trailblazing African American songstress who flouted convention, defied the odds and gave American popular music some of its best-loved recordings, has passed away at the age of 92. Recording artist, movie star and civil rights activist, Lena Horne was a true icon and role model: “My identity is very clear to me now. I am a black woman. I’m free. I no longer have to be a ‘credit.’ I don’t have to be a symbol to anybody; I don’t have to be a first to anybody. I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.”
A fantastic abundance of tributes to Lena have sprung up all over the blogosphere today, but our favorite homage to this incomparable woman can be found at The Auteurs website. Truly beautiful.
The Kitty Packard Pictorial 