Many know Eartha Kitt was talented, feisty and funny. But it’s hard to say how many know the brave activism behind this stong, outspoken black woman. One woman on Facebook, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, decided to educate her friends and family on Kitt’s background. Salmonson’s post has garnered over 74,000 shares—and that number is still climbing.
Here is Salmonson’s tribute post followed by a short and stunning video of Eartha Kitt’s activism via Timeline.
Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Conceived by rape, born on a cotton plantation, never certain who her father was, abandoned by her mother, abused as a child because she was "yaller" and was forced to live in the crawl space under the house with the cats.
She rose to become an internationally beloved singer, dancer, actor, and comedienne. She was an anti-war activist and member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, who gained the wrath of President Johnson and was harassed for years by the FBI. A vocal advocate of LGBT rights.
Asked about her following from and affinity for the gay community, she said, "We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection."
Eartha Kitt. SHE PERSISTED.
Here is a must-see video about Eartha Kitt via Timeline.
Thank you to all those who came before us and fought a bigger fight allowing us more human, civil, equal, lgbtq...rights. Thank you, Eartha Kitt. And cheers to Jessica Amanda Salmonson and Timeline for bringing attention to one of the many great women in America’s history who often are forgotten. Hopefully, stories about Kitt will be shared throughout Black History Month—and always.