Join us for this History Alive! performance, sponsored by the Equity and Inclusion

Committee in observance of Black History Month, where we will get a glimpse into the life of

Bessie Smith – one of the most popular female blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s. She

was the highest-paid Black performer of her day – known as the “Empress of the Blues” due

to her forceful vocal delivery and command of the genre. An all-around entertainer, Smith

also danced, acted, and performed comedy routines with her touring company.