Musical revues at the Ubangi Club in Harlem, New York, where she performed untilġ937. The following year, she started to put on her own By 1933, Gladys Bentley began to headline shows at nightclubs and
Parties, then soon after she put on shows at nightclubs and speakeasies.Įxtremely deep singing voice that appealed to black, white, gay and straightĪudiences. Parents and ran away to New York at age 16. She used music as an escape from her controlling Homosexuality by taking her to numerous doctors money eventually became an Mother worried about her attraction to women for most of her childhood,Īn article in the New York Times. In Philadelphia to a Trinidadian mother and black American father. Not only was Gladys Bentley a gifted pianist and blues singer,īut she was also a pioneer in testing the limits for sexuality, gender and race Stage name Bobbie Minton, defying all gender normalizations during the Performer as she was a lesbian who dressed in a top hat and a tuxedo, with the When you think about the greatest performers during the Harlem Renaissance, Gladys Bentley probably wouldn’t be one of the first to pop up in your mind, but nonetheless she was one of the most talented, successful and well-known entertainers of her time. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerableĪdvancements in the arts, academia, politics, sports and medicine. That there are many more black individuals and groups that significantlyĬontributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history Celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the importantĬontributions by people of African descent.
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