Born into a tragically poor family in Washington, DC, her talent for singing and dancing quickly won her recognition and offered her family an opportunity to escape grinding poverty. She started appearing in amateur hour events at the age of three, and by the time she was seven she'd grown accustomed to appearing before wealthy crowds as party entertainment, and had even traveled with a road show production with several other prominent black performers. By this point, she was a integral source of income for her family, so when she was offered the chance to travel as part of a traveling white vaudeville show, she took it, even though it meant she was expected to perform degrading racist stereotypical "shucking and jiving."
So when she found an opportunity to perform in a cabaret in the South Side of Chicago, she took it. The timing was perfect, as the African American community in Chicago was booming with recent arrivals from the South. It was a precursor to the coming Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Jazz was heard everywhere, and many jazz clubs were attracting both black and white patrons.
Florence's big break came a few years later, in 1921, when she was hired as the lead in the off-Broadway production of Shuffle Along, and instantaneous hit that Langston Hughes claimed kicked off the Harlem Renaissance. The show brought her national attention, and she was on her way. She performed in various prestigious Broadway cabarets and traveled to England to perform for welcoming audiences there.
But things at home weren't nearly as welcoming. When she was asked to join the Greenwich Village Follies -- the first time a black woman was offered a part in a major white production -- the all white cast threatened to walk out. Regardless, Florence continued performing and winning over audiences. She was even offered a contract to join the Ziegfeld Follies, but she turned it down, saying she didn't want to be the only black performer. Instead, she dreamed of creating an all black review of her own.
Johnny Hudgins, Florence Mills Rehearsing on Pavillon Theatre Roof, 1926
She continued to perform in wildly successful black musical productions, including From Dixie to Broadway, as well as headlining at prestigious Broadway venues. Finally, in 1926, her dream come true when Blackbirds opened at the Alhambra Theatre in Harlem. After a successful run in Harlem and Paris, Blackbirds opened in London where it lasted for 276 performances before taking off to tour the British provinces. It is said Florences Mills was as beloved in London as Josephine Baker was in Paris. It's even been suggested that while she was there she had an affair with the young and handsome Prince George.
Tragically, all this touring and performing took its toll on her health. She tried to rest, but her drive to show the world the talents of black performers kept pushing her to do more. Finally, in 1927, just a year after her London success, she left Blackbirds and sailed home to New York to get medical help. Sadly, because her mother was ill when she arrived, she put off her own treatment a little longer. In late October, when she finally entered the hospital she learned her condition was too far gone. Knowing she was going to die she still used her voice to cheer those around her, often singing to keep the nurses from crying. Her goal in life had always been to bring joy to those around her. True to form, her final words were "I don't want anyone to cry when I die. I just want to make people happy, always."
She saw herself as a spokesperson for the African American community. She used her fame to try to improve relations between whites and blacks both in the the US and abroad. She refused to degrade herself for the amusement of white audiences, and instead won them over with her incredible talent. Her signature song "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird" was more than simply a sentimental song of a woman looking for love. It was also about the African American community's struggle for equality -- something Florence Mills spent her short, but incredibly vibrant, life working toward.
For more reading:
Notable Black American Women, "Florence Mills" by Richard Newman
Author Bill Egan has written extensively about the Jazz Era and in particular about Florence Mills
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Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills earns the Self-Rescuing Princess Society seal of approval for telling the story of a brave woman who was determined to improve the lives of others. Her courage and certainty that she was on the right side of the issue is an inspiration to us all. It touches on issues around racism and shows how Florence fought against them at every turn in a way that even younger children can understand.
Josephine Baker was so much more than simply a dancer. Later in her life she would become a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, refusing to perform in front of segregated audiences in the US, and writing articles about discrimination. But before this period of public acts of resistance, though, she had an even more exciting but covert period -- she was a spy.
While she was at Cooper Union, she applied for a program to study sculpture abroad in France, but was denied solely because of her race. Instead of taking it lightly, she raised a fuss, wrote letters to the media, bringing attention to the racists practices of the program. The program still refused to accept her, but her life was changed, and she became quite active in the civil rights fight.
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