“This is Elsa Soares. She’s one of the biggest names in Brazilian music and considered a matriarch of Brazilian black artistry. BBC named her the voice of the millenium and she was one of the most important and loudest voice against racism, LGBTQIA+ and women rights, among other social causes. She’s died yesterday at age 91. This is a very simple, but sincere tribute to her. May you rest in power!
Please, listen to her music and search more about this great woman.”
Sarah Forbes Bonetta was an Egbado princess of the Yoruba people in West Africa who was orphaned during a war with the nearby Kingdom of Dahomey and later became the slave of King Ghezo of Dahomey. In a remarkable twist of events, she was liberated from slavery by Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the British Royal Navy and became a goddaughter to Queen Victoria. She was married to Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, a wealthy Lagos philanthropist.
I’ve always wanted to do a series on black classical singers for BHM, so here’s a sketch I squeezed in this week—a tribute to the great Marian Anderson!
Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) was an African-American opera singer and contralto. In 1939, after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Washington, D.C, then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt arranged for Anderson to perform an open-air concert on the Lincoln Memorial steps on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. She was able to deliver a critically acclaimed performance before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people, and a radio audience in the millions.
Read more about her accomplishments here, and donate to the National Marian Anderson Museum here.
Remember: tag your history & trailblazers art with #BlackExcellence365 for a chance to be featured!
Something a little different today – mossy rock studies! I have a few paintings coming up that feature a lot of moss and I realized I wasn’t quite sure how to render that in real paint…and so I practiced! Not sure if people are interested in my roughs and studies, but I thought I’d show some today! 💛
may you get a sign this week that shows you that you’re on the right path and that things are flowing and moving in your favor. may the sign be evident, clear, and direct
