Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel was a pioneering American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian.

She is most famous for her historic achievement at the Academy Awards. In 1940, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film *Gone with the Wind*. This made her the first African American to win an Academy Award. Throughout her life, she worked across many different types of media. She performed on radio, sang on records, and appeared in hundreds of films. Her career was a mixture of immense professional success and the struggle against racial injustice.

McDaniel's career began with music and traveling shows. In 1914, she and her sister Etta launched the McDaniel Sisters Company, which was an all-female minstrel show. Between 1920 and 1925, she toured with a Black ensemble called Professor George Morrison's Melody Hounds. She also became a radio performer in Denver, Colorado. From 1926 to 1929, she recorded 16 blues sides for labels like Okeh and Paramount. After the stock market crashed in 1929, she worked as a washroom attendant in Milwaukee. She eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to pursue film work.

Her acting career moved through several distinct stages of growth. She first appeared in the 1932 film *The Golden West*. Soon, she landed more significant roles, such as in the Mae West film *I'm No Angel* in 1933. By 1934, she joined the Screen Actors Guild, which is an organization for professional actors. She began to receive more screen credits as she moved from minor parts to major roles. In the film *Judge Priest*, directed by John Ford, she played a leading part and showed her singing talent. She also had a featured role in the 1936 musical *Show Boat*, where she sang "I Still Suits Me."

McDaniel's early life was shaped by her family's history in the United States. She was born in 1893 in Wichita, Kansas, as the youngest of 13 children. Her parents had both been formerly enslaved. Her father, Henry McDaniel, fought in the Civil War with the 122nd United States Colored Troops. Her mother, Susan Holbert, was a gospel singer. The family moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1901 before moving to Denver. In 1910, Hattie won a gold medal for reciting a poem in a contest.

Despite her talent, McDaniel had to navigate the systemic reality of segregation. This was a system of laws and customs that kept Black and white people separate. For example, she could not attend the Atlanta premiere of *Gone with the Wind* in 1939. This was because the theater was held in a whites-only venue due to local laws. At the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, she was required to sit at a segregated table. This table was located at the side of the room, away from the main seating.

Her success was often viewed through a complex lens by the public. While she won an Oscar, some members of the Black community criticized her for accepting roles that used racial stereotypes. They felt these roles, like the "Mammy" character, reinforced unfair ideas about Black people in the Old South. Some critics argued that her success came from working within a system that did not challenge racial inequality. However, her talent was undeniable. Reviewers often noted that she could command the screen, such as her comedic performance in the film *Alice Adams*.

Today, McDaniel's legacy is recognized through many official honors. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2006, she became the first Black Oscar winner to be honored with a U.S. postage stamp. She was also inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010. She appeared in more than 300 films, even though she only received official on-screen credits for 83 of them. Her life remains a significant part of American entertainment history.