Moms Mabley

Moms Mabley (1894–1975): 

Moms Mabley was a famous African American comedian. Her real name is Loretta Mary Aiken. She was born in Brevard, North Carolina. Her father was a firefighter; he died in the line of duty when she was eleven. She began her career as a comedian with the African-American Vaudeville Circuit at the age of fourteen. In the 1920s, she became a regular performer at Harlem’s Cotton Club. She used her standup comedy routines as a way to reveal and undermine the systemic racism that existed all over the United States at that time. Her subtle yet hilarious routines resonated with African Americans throughout the country. Her most successful comedy albums include: The Funniest Woman Alive, Moms Mabley at the Playboy Club, and Moms Mabley at the UN. In addition to her primary career as a comedian, she also was an actress. She performed in the Broadway show Fast and Furious: A Colored Revue in 37 Scenes (1931). Her acting career was so successful that she performed at The Apollo Theater more than any other performer in the 1930’s. She also acted in all of the following movies: The Big Timers (1945), Boarding House Blues (1948), and the musical revue Killer Diller (1948) 

Sometime in the 1950s, Mabley moved to the Town of Greenburgh where she stayed until her death in 1975(http://www.greenburghny.com/Cit-eAccess/news/index.cfm?NID=47278&TID=10&jump2=0) While humor is a powerful way to move people to action, music has the potential to be equally, if not even more, powerful. This is something Hazel Scott understood very well.