Red Stained
Red Stained
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The Life of Hilda Simms
Jokeda "JoJo" Bell
Minnesota Historical Society Press (September 2024)
Black actress and activist Hilda Simms was a rising star on the stage and screen in post–WWII America until accusations of un-Americanism and communist sympathies derailed her career.
Description
Hilda Simms emerged as an actress at a time when segregation was deeply entrenched in Hollywood and on Broadway. Black performers were mostly relegated to bit parts, stereotyped characters, or comic-relief roles—if they were hired at all. After joining Harlem's American Negro Theatre in 1943, Simms became immersed in a vibrant community of African American performers, writers, and other artists. Over the next two decades, she helped to chart a path for Black actors who wanted to be considered serious dramatists and tell stories that spoke to the true experience of African Americans.
Simms was born and raised in Minneapolis and after studying at Hampton Institute (now University) moved to New York City to find success in acting. There, she struggled to land roles in which she could be taken seriously as a dramatic actress. She spoke increasingly
openly about civil rights, and when she made sympathetic comments about the anti-racist policies of the Soviet Union, she gained the attention of the US Department of Justice. Her passport was revoked, forcing her to cancel plans to perform for American troops stationed in Europe. Effectively blacklisted from Hollywood, it marked the beginning of the end for her promising acting career.
Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms weaves primary research with a narrative style to tell the true story of Hilda Simms in the context of a nation gripped in the Cold War and a burgeoning civil rights movement. This first full biography of her life and career examines Simms’s rise to fame, her drive to be a respected dramatic actress, and her efforts to create equal opportunities for people of color on stage, on the screen, and behind the camera.
Author Information
Booklist Review
"One of the great tragedies of racism is that it deprives us of the gifts of great artists and thinkers. Look no further than Hilda Moses Simms, a talented Black actress and writer whose career was intentionally derailed by the 1950s communist purge. Although less well-known than her contemporaries Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, Simms worked alongside them, fighting racism through the arts while battling accusations of un-American activity. Simms’ career was always tied to activism; her earliest experience writing and performing was at a progressive settlement house in her hometown of Minneapolis. Moving to New York in the 1940s, she chafed against “tragic mulatto" roles. It was her work with the American Negro Theatre in Harlem that established her as a serious actress. Her starring role in the play Anna Lucasta made her the first Black woman to headline a successful Broadway show. Alas, like Robeson and other Black actor-activists, Simms’ admiration for the Soviet Union led to her passport being flagged and her career sidelined, but Simms remained unrepentant. Bell tells a remarkable story of a remarkable woman."
- Paperback
- 240 pages
- 9 in H | 6 in W
- ISBN: 9781681342528
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