African American Celebrities in the 1920s

Influential African American Celebrities in the 1920s

Presenter: Carina Fernandez

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 21-22

Semester: Fall

Faculty Mentor: Sandra Moore

Department: American Multicultural Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: Class Project, SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1AeGo_3eIp5eq-_JWHa7ddbIW371DrNN2

Abstract:
For my SYRCE research project I chose to look into some of the African American celebrities that were popular during the 1920's I chose this topic since the 1920's are famously known as the roaring twenties, where jazz and performing were at a peak during the decades, so I decided to analyze what other performers were like. With racial injustice and segregation also at a high I wanted to see how African American performers were treated or if they were liked just as much as white performers. In this presentation you will see two very strong African American women who were popular performers in the states and one of them even in France. Josephine Baker and Gladys Bentley influenced the African American culture during the 1920's by expressing their music abilities and confidence to their audience.