Do enjoy the article entitled
The Importance of Black HistoryIn the article, I mentioned my belief that Black history is important because we never want to forget our heroes and sheroes, one of which is...
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield 1809-1876
She is considered America's first black classical music singer. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Elizabeth was taken to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by a Quaker woman called Mrs. Greenfield. As a child, Elizabeth sang and Mrs. Greenfield immediately recognized the child's talent. Thus she encouraged Elizabeth to study music and aided her to develop her extraordinary voice. Mind you now, in the 1800s it was unheard of for a person of color to study or sing classical music. Yet Elizabeth performed at local parties. Mrs. Greenfield died and Elizabeth wound up in Buffalo, New York, singing before the music association there. Critics raved about her, giving her the moniker the 'Black Swan.' Elizabeth toured the northern states, and her fame grew with every performance. Her sweet voice was compared with that of Jenny Lind, dubbed the 'Swedish Nightingale.' Elizabeth sailed to London to give many concerts with the backing of titled women. She received glowing reviews, and gave a command performance at Buckingham Palace in 1854. She later returned to Philadelphia to continue her ethnic contributions, by opening a vocal studio for students.
To learn about others in the article, please revisit this forum. I will post more in the coming days.
Feel free to inform us of an African-American who has inspired
you! They can be living or dead; they can be known to you, or not.