Biography of E.Azalia Smith Hackley (1867-1922), African-American Singer and Social Activist

Profile of the African-American classical singer, social worker, writer, philanthropist, and activist who championed the use of African-American spirituals among her own people as a tool for social change. Her efforts led to the use of spirituals as freedom songs during the Civil Rights Movement.

Madame E. Azalia Hackley was an African-American classical singer, social worker, writer, philanthropist, and activist who championed the use of African-American spirituals among her own people as a tool for social change. Her efforts led to the use of spirituals as freedom songs during the Civil Rights Movement. This work uses newspaper accounts and archive studies documenting Madame Hackley's tours cross-coutry and abroad to rasie funds for African-American classical musicians. It shows Hackley's intense devotion to her African-American roots, as she easily could have passed for white. Nevertheless, she traveled throughout the South in "Jim Crow" railway cars by choice. This work also recovers several of her influential published works, including "A guide to voice culture" (1909); "The coloured girl beautiful" (1916), an etiquette book for African-American women desiring professional jobs; and "hints to young coloured artists" a series of acticles designed to help young African-American classical musicans succed.

Illustrations, i. Foreword, by Richard A. Long, Atticus Haygood Professor of Interdisciplinary Study, Emory University, ii-iii. Acknowledgements, iv-ix. Introduction: "Tedious Journeys: Mapping African-American Spirituals and Madame E. Azalia Hackley (1867-1922)," by Lisa Pertillar Brevard, 1-13. Part I: Madame Emma Azalia Smith Hackley (1867-1922): The Lady and Her Legacy, by Lisa Pertillar Brevard Chapter 1: "A Charge to Keep I Have": Azalia's Early Years (1867-1894), 15-24. Chapter 2: "Go In The Wilderness": Denver (1894-1900), 25-32. Chapter 3: "Gospel Train": Philadelphia and The Washington Conservatory of Music (1900-1915), 33-76. Chapter 4: "Let Us Cheer The Weary Traveler": Jim Crow Cars and Beyond -- Paris, London, Tokyo (1916-1920), 77-116. Chapter 5: "Balm In Gilead": Madame Hackley's Last Days (1920-1922), 117-135. Part II: "The Soul and Grit of a Colored Prima Donna: Madame E. Azalia Hackley as Journalist," by Lisa Pertillar Brevard, 137-156. "Hints to Young Colored Artists," by E. Azalia Hackley (New York Age, 1914-1915), 157-215. Part III: "Lessons Before Dying: Madame Hackley's The Colored Girl Beautiful (1916)," by Lisa Pertillar Brevard, 217-242. The Colored Girl Beautiful (1916), by E. Azalia Hackley, 243-326. Part IV: A Scrapbook of Madame E. Azalia Hackley A. Editor's Note and Photographs of Madame E. Azalia Hackley, 328-336. B. "Report on Scholarship for 1908," by E. Azalia Hackley, 337-340. C. Correspondence Between E. Azalia Hackley and James Weldon Johnson (June 6, 1915 through October 21, 1915), 341-352. D. Advertisements, 353-354. E. The New York Age Salutes Madame Hackley (Obituary by Lucien H. White, December 23, 1922), 355-358. F. "Chronology," by Lisa Pertillar Brevard, 359-364. Appendix A Guide in Voice Culture (1909), by E. Azalia Hackley, 365-388. Sheet Music: "Carola, A Serenade" (1918), by E. Azalia Hackley, 389-390 Bibliography, 391-408. Index, 409-412.