Learn about 6 Iconic Black Women Who Challenged Hollywood in American Masters on WITF TV

• Khamelia Henderson
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Witness the inspiring story of six Black women, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, and Pam Grier, who challenged the entertainment industry’s long-held racist stereotypes about Black people.

American Masters outlines the important role that prominent Black female entertainers played in the transformed representation of Black women in the media. Lena Horne was one of the most recognizable icons of her era. Throughout her 70-year acting, singing, and civil rights career, Horne struggled to forge her own identity amid racism and segregation in Hollywood. Her fight for dignity and respect broke barriers, challenged stereotypes, and opened doors for the next generations of Black women to make a place for themselves in Hollywood.

For Nina Simone, her famous protest song “Mississippi Goddam,” highlighted the white supremacist bombing of a Black church that killed four little Black girls in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Although she received much pushback from white audiences, she led the way for more Black artists to embrace their anger and anguish through song and art. Her work also inspired young people, black and white, to become more politically active in the civil rights movement. Cicely Tyson’s own activism shone through her media portrayals of Black womanhood. The history of Black female media representation is long and complex, but six women out of many led the charge in changing the status quo and inspiring later generations to pass on the torch.

Watch American Masters on Tuesday, February 6 at 9pm WITF TV or the PBS or WITF App. Livestream it for free or stream it on demand with WITF Passport.