June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010 – Lena Horne
The great singer, actor, dancer and civil rights activist Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born on June 30, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. Horne’s show business career lasted over 70 years in which she received international acclaim for her talents on Broadway and in television and film. Horne contributed to the fight for civil rights by refusing to perform before segregated audiences during World War II and audiences where African American soldiers were seated behind German prisoners of war.
![By Film screenshot (Till the Clouds Roll By film) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Lena Horne in Till the Clouds Roll By 1](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Lena_Horne_in_Till_the_Clouds_Roll_By_1.jpg)
Lena Horne in Till the Clouds Roll By
Lena Horne 1947
![By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Actor Lena Horne, a close-up view.) - NARA - 542057](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Civil_Rights_March_on_Washington%2C_D.C._%28Actor_Lena_Horne%2C_a_close-up_view.%29_-_NARA_-_542057.tif/lossy-page1-800px-Civil_Rights_March_on_Washington%2C_D.C._%28Actor_Lena_Horne%2C_a_close-up_view.%29_-_NARA_-_542057.tif.jpg)
Lena Horne at the March On Washington