Most of what we are exposed to about pin-ups of the war era, are about Betty Grable, and later, in the no nonsense nuclear age of the '50s, Marilyn Monroe. Shocker! News flash! Bulletin! Accordng to the book of Pin-up Genesis, all was not Grable. Most of what we see in the nostalgia archives are pin-up shots of white women with long legs, but, there is much more to it than that. Bear in mind that during WWII we were fighting to promote and protect democracy around the world. Where all men were created equal and had equal rights...this hypocrisy existed at the very same time that not only were Black civilians subject to segregation in the land of the free, but OUR own armed forces were segregated at the time. Segregation involved not only drinking fountain use, lunch counter seats and "back of the bus" seating in the deep south, but, it also meant seperate but equal in the military as well, not to mention the segregation of Black pin-up girls who also were the victims of an outdated system.
The Black GI had his own set of Black female pin ups to worship on the walls of the barracks while making midnight runs to the latrine just has his white counterparts had. Black females were and are objects of great beauty not only in the artistic sexual arena as pinups, but also in television, movies and as music rock stars in the years following the 1940's and well into the decades and even more so today in the 21st Century. Black is beautiful, but it took mainstream America a long time to accept that fact. Beauty has no racial barriers. These delicious Black pin-up girls found new homes in civilian life after the war ended, as they adorned the walls of barbershops, auto repair shops and other retail establishments where the Black male congregated to talk and socialize. One of the women who blazed the pin up trail for Black females was Dorothy Dandridge who was stunningly beautiful and with so much elegance and grace added to her mixture of sensuality and sexuality that it seemed to reach out from her photo and grab the male of any race by the balls.. If Dandridge were a scientific toy...she would be an Erector Erection Set for boys of all ages without regard to race, creed or color!
Dorothy Dandridge was born in 1922 and unfortunately for all of us, died in her 40's in 1965, but, not before making her mark on the stage and on the silver screen in Hollywood. She was not only a shining Black star who also has a star on Hollywood Boulevard, but was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She was a singer, more of a chanteuse actually at the Cotton Club as well as at the fantastic Apollo Theater during the wild heydays in Harlem. Her talent and beauty combined for a knock-out punch on stage and screen where she made her mark as the dream queen of wet dreams. There was an HBO film produced in 1999 depicting the life of this delightful bundle of sex and sensuality. It's not enough that the film was about a sexy Black superstar, but the part was played by the incomparable talent and beauty of non other than Halle Berry herself! Talk about beauty on beauty!
As the 1950's moved along at a faster pace, other Black Goddesses became fan favorites as pinups and entertainers. One legendary example out of many is the highly intoxicating looks of Lena Horne! In one famous encounter in the liberal Sixties, comedian Lenny Bruce, known for his caustic wit and keen insight into American culture was at a party in NYC with a guest list that included a who's who of liberal citizens. One of the white gentlemen speaking to Lenny about race relations said, according the the Lenny Bruce autobiography, "I think all colored people should have the same rights as we do but I would never date a colored woman!" To which Lenny replied, "Fine..you date Kate Smith...I'll take Lena Horne!"
Damn straight...I'll take Lena Horne anyday. This vivacious vixen was born in 1917 and yes, she was a beauty. She was the definition of class.She was a dancer, singer, actress, but, more imporantly she used that beauty to propel herself into the spotlight so she could be an effective activist in the Civil Rights Movement. To get to that fork in the road, she had to start as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club at the age of 16 and eventually becme a solo act mesmerizing audiences with the glare of her beauty and the magic of her voice that washed over you like a gentle wave. Her picture appeared as pin-ups as one of the classiest women around as all the poses were tasteful and not demeaning as some sectors of society viewed pin up photography.
Hollywood beckoned and like so many others in the late 40's and 50's she was accused of being a Communist due to her leftist leanings and activism. She was in good company as they also listed Lauren Bacall and Eleanor Roosevelt! In America in those days, if you were active in civil rights and human rights and the plight of the poor...you were obviously not an American! What? Yep, that's how it was along with segregation in the south. Land of the free?
In 1963 Lena took place in the March on Washington. She was also working on the theatrical stage as she had been blacklisted and banned from Hollywood as were so many others. She sold records by the millions and took the new medium of television by storm. She retired in 1980 but returned for a series of one woman shows and other projects until the 1990's, but disappeared from the public eye in 2000. She died in 2010.
Magazines were repositories of photographic flesh. One of them, Playboy Magazine part of the Hugh Hefner Bunny Empire was the first to break the "color barrier" by featuring an African American playmate centerfold. She became the Jackie Robinson of pin-ups and scored a home run her first time out. Her name is Jennifer Jackson, an exotic exhibition of femininity if ever there was. Imagine the surprise of American Playboy Readers when they opened that issue of March 1965, and instead of a buxom blonde with Nordic breasts they found nestled in the centerfold they gazed in wonder at a bronze goddess of unquestionable beauty. Jennifer Jackson has not only broken the color barrier but also the sound barrier of physical attraction. (Her twin sister was also a Playboy Bunny!) She was a rocket fueled engine that blasted the doors wide open for other women of color to be featured and immortalized in the Playboy Hall of Flesh and Fame! Other women of color appeared over the years but in 1990, it happened. Renee Tenison was named Playmate of the Year! In the girlie mags that is as good as a rock and roller landing on the cover of Rolling Stone or a Nobel Prize Winner as Time Magazines Person of the Year.
Dorothy Dandridge was the spark that lit the fuse for a profusion of bronze beauty pin-ups, but there is a gentlemen we must mention in regards to the proliferation of beautiful black women as models and pin-ups and the personification of elegant beauty. His name is John H. Johnson, the publisher emeritus of Jet Magazine and Ebony. Ebony first hit the newsstands in 1945. It was well laid out and artistic and it's primary focus was to show the positive aspects of African Americans in all walks of life or as they said.."From Hollywood to Harlem!" JET magazine was first published in 1951 and was more of a societal weapon of the Black community to foster civil rights and chutzpah in a population that had to endure a negative image by the society around them, along with segregation and violence. JET went into the forefront of the battle with courage and a mission...and Black pin-up girls leading the charge!
The JET pin-up girls were called featured girls, not posed in a state of blatant nudity, but dressed sexy, yet tasteful and elegantly with a respectful presentation. No tawdry Hustler type photos or presentation here. They represented all walks of life from celebrities, singers, chorus girls with those long legs for high kicks and just plain pretty Black women from the inner cities. They posed in swimsuits and were referred to as Jet Cover Girls, not Playboy Bunnies or Hustler Chicks. By 1964 they began publishing the JET Beauty of the Month calendar. So forget Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition, Jet had the fuel injected edge and proved without a doubt that Black is Beautiful long before that!
Today the Black Pin-up is everywhere sharing the pages of mens magazines with their White, Asian and Native American sisters. The color line of demarcation has been erased and we have all stepped through the looking glass, and lucky for us waiting on the other side is a world of Black pin-up queens. So, take it from me, you can have Kate Smith, and like Lenny Bruce, I'll take Lena Horne...or Halle Berry..or Beyonce..or Dorothy Dandridge..or Jennifer Jackson...or Queen Latifa...and the list goes on.