Politically liberal and involved in civil rights causes since the beginning of her career, she was blacklisted in the 1950's after appearing before the Senate's McCarran Committee. She then moved to Mexico and became the first black female musical television star there. She later moved to Europe to train to become a classical opera soprano and enjoyed some degree of success there.
When you discover injustice, you don't just close your mind to it. It was born in me to do something about it. I am lucky to have had the gift for expressing myself.