Facing Discrimination

For context, the Civil Rights movement, or the fight for racial equality was most prominent between the 1940s-1960s. The end of segregation, Brown vs. Board of Education/desegregation of schools, the death of Emmett Till due to a racial hate crime, Rosa Parks refusing to give her seat up on a bus, and Martin Luther Kings "I Have a Dream" speech were all current events in this time period. This was also the time period where Ella Fitzgerald and many other Black musicians, performers, and artists were gaining fame and recognition. Since the rise of Fitzgeralds fame and the Civil Rights movement overlapped, she delt with racism and discrimination constantly. 

When she went on tour with Dizzy Gillespie, the discrimination reached an all-time high. At one point on the tour police barred into her and Gillespie's dressing rooms and arrested them because of Granz civil right advocacy. Even with this racial discrimination, many celebrities reached out and showed their support.   

A celebrity that supported her through all this discrimination was Marilyn Monroe. After she heard Fitzgerald was being snuck into gigs through the back or side entrance rather than the front door. When this problem was addressed by Fitzgerald, Monroe showed her support. On one occasion, an award ceremony said Monroe could go through the front entrance with the rest of the White celebrities, but Fitzgerald had to go through the back door. Monroe refused to go inside without Fitzgerald by her side.