............ I'm intimately understanding of the workings of this country... My country..
That's interesting, your connection to the world of entertainment.
I grew up in Baltimore and got to know several people who later became very successful in the industry.
Two of these peeps were Black.
One was my lifelong good friend, the stage actress Trazana Beverly, we bonded over our shared experience of discrimination at the age of 13 in Middle school and later High School.
Trazana came from a large supportive intact family, her Mother was a teacher and her Father owned a grocery store in the Black neighborhood they lived in.
Her parents insisted that she attend 'the best public school in the city' even though it was 95% White Jewish kids.
When we graduated from our all girls public High School I asked her what she wanted to do and was shocked when she replied "be an opera singer or a stage actress" as both professions at that time were mostly closed to Blacks, especially Black women who were not that attractive.
Well Trazana moved to NYC, studied and worked hard, exercised and made herself pretty and later went on to become the 1st Black person to win a Tony award and is still going strong as of today, a truely beautiful and self-actualized human being.
Trazana had an understanding of the world and how it worked.
The other pre-fame Black actor I knew was Tupak Shakur. My best friend and roomie at that time was Tupak's Baltimore School for the Arts English/Drama teacher and she frequently had her students over to the house for drama club, where I was able to observe and get to know him (sweet, smart, nice and wildly talented teen).
Tupak came from a broken home, lived in a rough, Black 'hood and his Mom did bad drugs.
They later moved, Tupak embraced Gangsta' Culture, became a Rapper and quickly succumbed to the lifestyle.
Tupak also had a certain understanding of the world and how it worked and lived out his Manifest Destiny as he understood it, as did Trazana.
....... oh yeah, one other thing, HOVAH will appreciate this part, Trazana came back to visit one time in Spr. of '67 and persuaded a reluctant me to attend a packed venue at The Famous Ballroom where I got to see John Coltrane perform his last gig ever, one of only 3 White women in the audience.
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