Every year we lose a little part of our history when legendary people of color pass on. In 2008 we lost so many talented folks: Miriam Makeba, Odetta, Bo Diddley, Bernie Mac, Isaac and Hayes have all left us. On Christmas Day one legend made the list when Eartha Kitt lost her battle with colon cancer. Depending on your age you’ll know Miss Kitt as either the oversexed cosmetic mogul in “Boomerang” or as Batman’s felonious feline foe, Catwoman. But these roles were part of Miss Kitt’s second act she did so much more before most of us were born.
I call it a second act since the outspoken singer/actress was all but blacklisted for a time after her comments at the White House left Lady Bird Johnson in tears. What did she say? When asked about the Vietnam War she replied: “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot.” Apparently the First Lady had never heard that you shouldn’t ask a sister a question you don’t want the answer to. Kitt took sanctuary performing in the caberets in Europe when she was shunned on our shores. But when she came back here it wasn’t with her tail between her legs. She made a triumphant return to Broadway in “Timbuktu” and the White House when President Jimmy Carter invited her back that same year. Then she got folks riled up again when she toured South Africa in the 1980s. Clearly, she didn’t care what people thought. She did what she wanted. And when she did her guest stints in movies like “Boomerang” or in a similar role in “Living Single” we were still in awe.
And Ms. Kitt kept doing her thing until illness slowed her down. In 2007, she did a sold out run at Cafe Carlyle in New York City. And her voice still had folks standing on their feet. But we all know that she even commanded our attention just by speaking. Just hearing her roll those “rrrs” over her tongue told us that she had come a long way from her abusive South Carolina roots.
We can learn a lot from the way she lived her life. She was fearless.
Here is Eartha in across the ages:
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