{"id":4682,"date":"2019-05-09T21:41:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T21:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/?p=4682"},"modified":"2019-05-09T22:39:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T22:39:47","slug":"1920s-1950s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/1920s-1950s\/","title":{"rendered":"1920s-1950s"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/srSLnF8xcj8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u201cProve it on me Blues\u201d was written in 1928 by Ma Rainey. It was also performed and recorded in 1928. Her music was recorded in Chicago by the Chicago Music Publishing Company. Rainey\u2019s song was intended for Black queer individuals, the Black community in general and any folks who enjoyed vulgar Blues music during the time period of the Harlem renaissance and the roaring twenties. The purpose of this song was to address Rainey\u2019s sexual and emotional desire for women. It reveals her identity as a woman who was attracted to people of her same sex. Therefore, \u201cProve it on me Blues\u201d exposed Rainey\u2019s queer, or bisexual identity. The lyrics described her preference for women during that time period and the ways in which she acted upon her sexual urges through flirting with women at parties and being openly queer in public spaces. Rainey\u2019s song relates back to my exhibition because her song represented her ability to proudly express her sexual agency and oppose heteronormativity by singing about engaging in romantic acts with other women.<\/p>\n<div id=\"sidebarContainer\">\n<div id=\"toolbarSidebar\">\n<div class=\"splitToolbarButton toggled\"><a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smithsonian-institution\/great-blues-singer-gladys-bentley-broke-rules-180971708\/\">http:\/\/https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smithsonian-institution\/great-blues-singer-gladys-bentley-broke-rules-180971708\/<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The National Museum of American History and Culture holds an image of Gladys Bentley in New York. The date, photographer and owners are unknown.This image worked to encourage others to attend her Blues music and comedy shows. Her infamous identity consisted of wearing men\u2019s clothing and actively flirting with other women. Words on the left side of the image state, \u201cAmerica\u2019s greatest sepia piana artist\u201d. The right side of the image has words that say, \u201cBrown bomber of sophisticated songs\u201d. She wore a white top hat tilted to the side along with a white men\u2019s tuxedo. She was holding a cane on her right side with a smirk on her face. Both the words and her attire work to attract queer women to become fans of her artistry. This image of Bentley connects to my exhibition because her clothing opposed gender norms. Her fashion statements while performing dismantled gender norms that applied to women during the Harlem renaissance era. The Smithsonian Magazine contains information regarding Bentley.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4688 size-medium alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"Dorothy Dandridge\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf-1024x663.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf-624x404.jpg 624w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/files\/2019\/05\/Screenshot_2019-05-09-Dorothy_Dandridge_Stars_in_a_G-pdf.jpg 1284w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"sidebarContainer\">\n<div id=\"sidebarContent\">\n<div id=\"thumbnailView\">\n<div class=\"thumbnail selected\">\n<div class=\"thumbnailSelectionRing\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumbnail\">\n<div class=\"thumbnailSelectionRing\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"sidebarResizer\" class=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mainContainer\">\n<div class=\"toolbar\">\n<div id=\"toolbarContainer\">\n<div id=\"toolbarViewer\">\n<div id=\"toolbarViewerLeft\">\n<p>In December 1954, New York\u2019s Cosmopolitan Magazine featured Dorothy Dandridge. Louella Parsons wrote an article based upon Dandridge\u2019s beauty and performance within the film \u201cCarmen Jones\u201d. Dandridge\u2019s character as \u201cCarmen Jones\u201d was highlighted within the article. Parsons described her character as seductive and extremely beautiful. Dandridge expressed that she wished to become as famous as the white female actresses. She was the love interest of Harry Belafonte and an extremely charming character. This primary source connects to my exhibition because it highlights the ways in which Dandridge\u2019s character highlighted Black women in a positive way. Her seduction and beauty, and success as a new Black female actress uplifted the Black community. Despite the racial violence that was occurring simultaneously, Dandridge\u2019s performance in \u201cCarmen Jones\u201d was embraced by the Black community. She embraced her sex appeal, which represented the agency that her character possessed along with her new identity as a rising star.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"toolbarButtonSpacer\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"toolbarViewerRight\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"verticalToolbarSeparator hiddenSmallView\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"splitToolbarButton\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"splitToolbarButtonSeparator\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"toolbar\">\n<div id=\"toolbarContainer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"viewerContainer\">\n<div id=\"viewer\" class=\"pdfViewer\">\n<div class=\"page\">\n<div class=\"canvasWrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cProve it on me Blues\u201d was written in 1928 by Ma Rainey. It was also performed and recorded in 1928. Her music was recorded in Chicago by the Chicago Music&#8230; <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/1920s-1950s\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-makeda-white"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4682\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/modern-us-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}