Maya Angelou’s heartfelt plea for the importance of keeping inspiring role models before the new generation of young African American women could not find a better exemplar than Florence Mills.  Never quite lost to race consciousness, Florence has remained just within the peripheral vision of successive generations, a tantalizing image of something precious, lost but still treasured.  While Ms Angelou’s focus was on women, and women entertainers in particular, Florence Mills can serve as a universal role model, not just for all African Americans but for the world at large.  Though she gained fame as an exceptionally talented performer, she is equally fascinating as an intelligent and socially conscious human being.

I want to focus on the private side here but first a quick summary of her public career. For more detail see http://www.tip.net.au/~wegan/biography.htm:

The remarkable public achievements of Florence Mills have been documented frequently, though often inaccurately.  I hope to set that to rest with my planned biography.  Her private personality, though little  known, is equally fascinating.

The passionate conviction that drove Florence Mills was her belief she could use her talent for entertainment to help breakdown the barriers of prejudice enmeshing her people.  There was no personal bitterness in her hatred of prejudice, just a conviction that it was wrong and illogical.  Unlike many of her fellow race members she had experienced positive contact with White people from an early age, having been the darling of the diplomatic set in Washington DC as a tot.  Her later years in Black vaudeville certainly exposed her to all the petty humiliations that were the lot of Black people in those times but show business was one of the most tolerant industries.  She enjoyed the appreciation of White audiences and had many friends among White performers.

Nevertheless she burned with indignation at the injustices of racism.  In an article she wrote for an English newspaper she said:

Despite the anger, her views were tinged with an optimism that was shared by many Black people in those times.  There was a sense that somehow if they elevated themselves by education and hard work then reason would win out and the White majority would relent.  Though things were bad much progress had been made since the demise of slavery.  Reflecting this view, Florence told an English journalist:

Her belief that her own example of talent combined with professionalism and dedication could help win friends for her people fuelled her optimism.  In her final message of farewell to the English people, which the NAACP proudly published back home in a press release, she said:

It was this dedication to the cause of her people that caused Harlem Renaissance literary figure Theophilus Lewis to say, “[Florence Mills] always regarded herself as our envoy to the world at large and she was probably the best one we ever had.”  That she did win friends was dramatically shown by the change in cynical British journalist Hannen Swaffer.  In 1923 he wrote such offensive racist material that Florence’s producer C. B. Cochran had him physically ejected from the London Pavilion theatre on opening night.  By 1927 Swaffer was an adoring fan and an apostle allowing Florence to use his column to spread her message of tolerance.  In later years he supported the cause of the Scottsboro Boys in his columns.

Florence’s success in winning hearts and minds in England was due in no small part to her transparently sincere and lovable personality.  However, it was also helped greatly by the leaking, towards the end of her stay, of news about her covert charitable work in hospitals and along the London embankment where the homeless dwelt.  Even while suffering from her final illness, instead of going home to rest and comfort after show’s end, she would venture out into the London night to distribute anonymous charity, giving away her hard-earned money in sympathy for the plight of those less well-off.

“All very well,” you may say “But this was all so long ago; why is Florence Mills still relevant as a role model for African Americans today?”  As an outsider I am venturing on delicate terrain here but it seems to me that the spirit of hope and optimism that burned so brightly for Black people in Florence Mills’ time has faded considerably for many today.  The intervening years have seen the battle for legal civil rights resoundingly won and yet there are many problems surrounding the issue of race in modern America.  For some the answer lies in an angry response and there may be much grounds for anger in the ghettos of big cities and the less affluent underbelly of urban USA.  There are times undoubtedly when injustice must be confronted with strong, even violent, action.

  Nevertheless, despite whatever problems there may be, I believe Florence Mills’ gentle but firm determination is a better model in the long run for overcoming social obstacles, and less damaging to the individual psyche, than more aggressive approaches.  As Theophilus Lewis said in his tribute partly quoted above, “The world must be shown not only that we can produce genius, but that we also possess dependability, stamina and courage.  Florence Mills showed it.”  What more could a role model offer?

In defence of my claims I should explain how Florence Mills came to be such a significant role model for me personally, a White, male Australian, born in Ireland ten years after her death.  From my teen years I was a keen jazz fan with a consequent interest in Black culture, including the poetry and prose of Langston Hughes and novelists like Chester Himes and Ralph Ellison.  I knew the music of great Black female singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Adelaide Hall to name but a few.  My favorite musical figure was Duke Ellington.  Quite late in my life I heard for the first time Ellington’s Black Beauty and was instantly bowled over.  It was the most moving and inspiring piece of music I had ever heard.  Collecting as many versions of it as I could find became an obsession.

In addition to collecting versions, I also read avidly anything written about Black Beauty.  I soon found it was Duke’s tribute to an obscure singer and dancer named Florence Mills, who died tragically young in 1927, leaving no trace via records or films.  My curiosity was piqued; who was this person?  A new obsession emerged - I must find out everything I could about Florence Mills.

A revisit to biographies of Ethel Waters, Alberta Hunter, Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, revealed that they all considered her one of their greatest peers though the amount of information on her was tantalisingly small.  A friend produced a book of old Vanity Fair material that included the first picture I saw of Florence.  It was the famous portrait by Edward Steichen, the only full-page picture of a Black person to appear in that magazine in the Twenties.  Despite all this I found that there had never been a biography of Florence Mills. Having retired early (aged 55) I had completed a graduate diploma in professional writing and embarked on my first project (to do with chess.)

Now I decided it was more important to unravel the story of this enigmatic forgotten star of the Twenties.  That was the start of a saga that has lasted eight years and is still going.  It soon became apparent the information available from books was pitifully limited, mainly dealing with her later years of international fame and accounts of her extraordinary Harlem funeral.

I realized the only way to uncover the full story was to re-trace Florence Mills' steps myself, consulting primary sources and talking to the few people left after 70 years who had known her.  I traveled many times, always at my own expense, from my home base in Australia to Europe (London, Paris, Versailles, Brussels, Ostende, Berlin, Darmstadt and Baden Baden), USA (New York, Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Arizona, San Francisco, and Los Angeles) and Canada (Calgary), retracing her footsteps.  In these places I undertook extensive research on primary sources and visited numerous major historic collections

Tucked away in archives in many of the cities I visited were dusty files and crumbling documents--vital clues to the phenomenal successes and events of Florence Mills' life.  For example:

I have uncovered a considerable amount of unknown information about Florence Mills.  I have also debunked a number of popular myths.  Yet, the truth is much more remarkable than any myth.  It shows that Florence Mills was much more than just a very talented entertainer.  She was a truly remarkable human being.  Hers is a story that cries out to be told. 

Again in the words of Maya Angelou: "Harlem was Paris to the lost generation at the turn of the century.  Some of these women, who have never been heralded must be saluted."

And in the words of Charles Blockson, founder and curator of the Blockson Collection at Temple University: "[Florence Mills] life represents the missing link of the exciting years of the Harlem Renaissance."

It is my ambition to help restore Florence Mills in the public eye and to her own people as a small return for the pleasure and inspiration I have received from Black culture and music.

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updated 13 October 2007

Bill Egan--Master of Science (London University), Bachelor of Science in Economics - Honors (London University)Graduate Diploma in Computing (Canberra University), Graduate Diploma in Professional Writing (Canberra University)--is author of Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz Queen.

An Irish-born (1947) Australian citizen, independent researcher and sometimes freelance computer consultant.  Has had a lifelong interest in jazz and African American culture.  Prior to retirement was Head of the Computer Services Division of the Australian Bureau of Statistics in Canberra.

http://www.florencemills.com/biography.htm