Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010), Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, New York and died May 9, 2010, at the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.

Lena Horne hailed from a family of the so-called “talented tenth” as W.E.B. DuBois had termed them — with historical family members on both paternal and maternal sides.  In fact, DuBois recites a lunch room encounter with Cora Calhoun in one of his books — I forget which.  More importantly, unlike so many black actors actresses and entertainers, Horne also dedicated her life to Civil Rights Activism even to the detriment of her career.

• She refused to preform to segregated audiences
• She preformed and aided the NAACP, SNCC, and NCNW
• She also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws.