BADASS WOMEN: HAZEL SCOTT

BADASS WOMEN: HAZEL SCOTT

The woman I would like to talk about today catapults us into the year 1920, when the world was slowly healing from a world conflict while the United States were still torn apart by massacres and racially-based protests caused by white supremacism. Hazel Scott, daughter of R. Thomas Scott and Alma Long Scott, was born in Trinidad. Her mother, academic pianist and self-taught saxophonist, will be Hazel's greatest inspiration, who already played the piano perfectly at the age of three thanks to her talented ear for music. After her parents' divorce, she moved to Harlem with her mother, and was admitted to the prestigious Julliard School of Music at the age of eight (it is important to note that the academy only accepted children who were at least sixteen years of age). Already in adolescence, between the Thirties and Forties, Hazel managed to win a competition, create and host her own radio show, play in nightclubs as well as at the Roseland Ballroom, Carnegie Hall and Broadway. Her prestige was extended not only to classical music, but also to jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. Scott's first big breakthrough was her debut at Café Society, the first New York nightclub that, at the time, offered entertainment to audiences of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Hazel Scott became one of the first black women to break into the

Hollywood scene in non-secondary roles. Scott sternly rejected any role that painted the stereotype of the African American as a ruler or servant of white families, or that relegated her to the shadows. She also fought to overcome the injustices of the world of filmography which, in addition to denigrating blacks by giving them secondary roles, compensated white actors much more than those of color. Hazel was also one of the first black entertainers to refuse to play for an audience of white people only, or subject to segregation (meaning that blacks and whites could not sit next to each other). In Austin, Texas, Scott was escorted outside of the venue where she was supposed to perform, after discovering that the owners did not allow blacks to sit next to whites. She herself argued "why would anyone come to hear me, a negro, and refuse to sit beside someone just like me?". Hazel was the first black woman to have her own TV show in the discriminatory climate of the United States, and it was her personality that made her show a real hit. The episodes were colored by interviews with celebrities and piano performances, which left the audience in ecstasy. Scott was also a great activist in everyday life, and never failed to fight against social injustice. She filed a lawsuit against the owners of Pasco, a Washington restaurant, after a waitress refused to serve her and her guest because of the color of their skin. In the 1950s, with the advent of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his oppression and aversion to Communist Party supporters, many names in the show business were defamed and covered with bogus accusations; Scott became a target in turn. The Café Society, a place to which her name was firmly associated, was labeled a meeting place for Communists. Scott decided to step in and testify before the House Un-American Activities committee, demanding that the false slander and scandals against artists and entertainers cease, and denying any Communist party-related activities. The government continued to see Scott as a threat and, in response, permanently canceled her show. Towards the end of the 1950s, Hazel Scott moved to Paris where she opened her apartment for jazz sessions and gatherings attended by well-known faces of entertainment and music, such as James Baldwin and Duke Ellington. In 1963, Scott participated in the Parisian march in support of the famous march on Washington during which Martin Luther King delivered his famous and moving speech "I Have a Dream". In 1967 Scott returned to the United States, where she died of cancer in 1981. 

Today I remember with immense honor this woman so virtuous, talented and progressive, a woman who has dedicated her life to art, music and the fight against racism and social distinctions. There is one more thing I haven't said about Hazel Scott that deserves to be mentioned: she played two pianos excellently and with fearless mastery at the same time! With the portrait of Hazel I greet you and look forward to seeing you soon with the story of another "badass woman"! Martina.