Eartha Kitt (Part 2)
For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation. Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on ATVN with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.
As part of ATVN’s celebration of Black History Month, here at the “Showplace” we are putting the spotlight on African American actors who excelled not just on the big and small screens but who also inspired change with their courage and perseverance.
For over 20 years, Earth Kitt had traveled the globe and found success as a singer, actress in film, television and theater and had become an active voice in speaking out against social injustice and as a proponent of peace.
In 1966, she established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a chartered and non-profit organization for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles. She was also involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., who called themselves “Rebels with a Cause”. Kitt supported the groups’ efforts to clean up streets and establish recreation areas in an effort to keep them out of trouble by testifying with them before the House General Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor.
In her May 1967 testimony, Kitt stated that the Rebels’ “achievements and accomplishments should certainly make the adult ‘do-gooders’ realize that these young men and women have performed in one short year – with limited finances – that which was not achieved by the same people who might object to turning over some of the duties of planning, rehabilitation, and prevention of juvenile delinquents and juvenile delinquency to those who understand it and are living it”. She added that “the Rebels could act as a model for all urban areas throughout the United States with similar problems.”
“Rebels with a Cause” subsequently received the needed funding. Kitt was also a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; her criticism of the Vietnam War and its connection to poverty and racial unrest in 1968 can be seen as part of a larger commitment to peace activism.
Her career cooled for the first time following a 1968 invitation from Lyndon Johnson to the White House where she made anti-war statements about the American involvement in the Vietnam War.
Except for a few appearances in theatrical productions overseas, her career was nearly frozen for almost ten years before her job opportunities began to resurface.
Kitt made a successful return to United States audiences in a 1978 Broadway production of Timbuktu! Following that performance, she continued a busy schedule performing in film and theater, singing, doing voiceover work and activism. In her later years she expanded her support for social equality and became an advocate for LGBTQ rights and was a frequent speaker at fundraisers.
In the year leading up to her death, she performed live at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and did animation voiceover work for the films, My Life as a Teenage Robot and The Emperor’s New Groove, and for a guest starring spot on the television show, The Simpsons.
Kitt died of colon cancer at her home in Connecticut on December 25, 2008. She was 82.
Check back next week here at “The Showplace” for more stories of inspiration and achievement both in the entertainment industry and in the ongoing search for equality and social justice.
To view the complete rundown of classic programming on ATVN, check out the weekly listings on our website.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
