Our Cover
Fredi Washington
(1903-1994), was a fair skinned, green eyed black actress who had early success
in the Broadway play, Black Boy.
Her most famous role, however, was that of Peola, a black girl passing
for white, in the film Imitation of Life
(1934). Ironically, Fredi found
that Life imitated Art, because she was unfairly accused of denying her black
ancestry in real life, as she had done on screen.
Many acting opportunities were denied her because she could not be
accepted for who she was; instead she was limited to stereotypical mulatto roles
or denied roles because she was not dark enough.
In reality, Fredricka Carolyn Washington fought to be who she was - a
black actress who became a civil rights activist.
She co-founded the Negro Actors Guild of America and stressed the need
for more realistic roles for people of color in film and theater. She worked
with the NAACP to secure greater participation in the arts for African
Americans. She also became a theater
critic for the
Submitted
by Joyce J. Clark