Lena Horne becomes first Black woman to have Broadway theater named after her
NEW YORK -- Brooklyn's very own Lena Horne is now the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her.
On Tuesday, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on West 47th Street was renamed the Lena Horne Theatre.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, Horne was a trailblazer who brought sophistication wherever she went.
The late movie actress, dancer, singer and civil rights activist has her name stamped in lights on Broadway, and it recalls the time of her Broadway triumph from 1981 to 1982 in "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music."
Her granddaughter, screenwriter Jenny Lumet, told the crowd outside the theater to follow what was always Horne's message -- be inspired.
"She would say, 'Let it soar. Let your cup runneth over. Do your thing. Make more art and believe,'" Lumet said.
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Horne famously attended the March on Washington in 1963 and had refused to perform for segregated audiences of troops during World War II.
"Her activism came out of her experiences in life. As gorgeous as she was, she was a woman of color. She still has discriminating circumstances and roles weren't given it to her," actress Vanessa Williams said. "I was at an event and she was there and I remember bursting into tears because she meant that much to me."
"It's all about legacy, making sure people know that she created a path for others to follow, that they don't have to feel that they're alone, that someone was there before and ahead of time," actor Wendell Pierce said. "She had true courage."
"At a time when this entire country didn't want anything to do with her, she took control," Lumet said.
"She was the epitome of stardom," actress Chita Rivera said.
"She is such an inspiration to me. Like as a Black girl, myself, looking up at her and having this theater be renamed after her makes me feel so good inside," actress Mariama Diop added.
Horne talked about how far she had come in a1981 interview on CBS with 60 Minutes' Ed Bradley.
"Well, I believe in my real self now, yes," she said.
We can all believe that this theater's new name is a gift, reminding us of the greatness of the one and only Lena Horne.
Horne died in May of 2010 at the age of 92 and is survived by two children and six grandchildren.
