Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

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Tag: Anne Wiggins Brown

  • The Groundbreaking Talent of Anne Wiggins Brown

    Once he heard her sing, Gershwin not only included her in his production, but in his writing process, eventually developing her character into a co-lead and a career-defining role for Brown. And thus the story of DuBose Heyward’s Porgy became known to the world as “Porgy and Bess.”

  • Living Portraits: Carl Van Vechten’s Color Photographs of African Americans, 1939-1964

    Living Portraits: Carl Van Vechten’s Color Photographs of African Americans, 1939-1964 Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), photographer, promotor of literary talent, and critic of dance, theater, and opera, had an artistic vision rooted in the centrality of the talented person. He cherished accomplishment, whether in…

  • I’ve lived a strange kind of life—half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight.

    “We tough girls tough it out,” she [Anne Wiggins Brown] said with a wry grin. “I’ve lived a strange kind of life—half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight. Many things that I wanted as a young person for my career were denied to me because of my color.” “On the other hand, many…

  • Theater; On Hearing Her Sing, Gershwin Made ‘Porgy’ ‘Porgy and Bess’

    Theater; On Hearing Her Sing, Gershwin Made ‘Porgy’ ‘Porgy and Bess’ The New York Times 1998-03-29 Barry Singer In his tragically short life, George Gershwin knew only one Bess, and this bittersweet fact has framed Anne Wiggins Brown’s life. She was that Bess in the original production of Gershwin’s operatic masterwork based on Dorothy and…

  • Anne Brown, Soprano Who Was Gershwin’s Bess, Is Dead at 96

    Anne Brown, Soprano Who Was Gershwin’s Bess, Is Dead at 96 The New York Times 2009-03-16 Douglas Martin Anne Brown, a penetratingly pure soprano who literally put the Bess in “Porgy and Bess” by inspiring George Gershwin to expand the character’s part in a folk opera that was originally to be called “Porgy,” died Friday…

  • Anne Wiggins Brown (1912-2009)

    Anne Wiggins Brown (1912-2009) Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music 2012-01-29 Randye Jones Soprano Anne Wiggins Brown was born on August 9, 1912, in Baltimore, Maryland. (This year, rather than 1915, was confirmed by the singer herself.) Her father, Dr. Harry F. Brown, was a prominent physician and grandson of a slave. Her mother, Mary Wiggins…