Lady Sings the Blues
Billie Holliday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was
raised at in Baltimore, Maryland. At age 10 she was abducted by a neighbor and raped. Her mother
had gotten the police to come to her aid, but, reflecting the attitudes of law enforcement to
raped women and girls at that time, especially women and girls of color, she was thrown in
jail.
Of this, Billie is quoted as saying:
"When we got there, instead of treating me and Mom like somebody who called the cops for help,
they treated me like I'd killed somebody.. .I guess they had me figured for having enticed this
old goat into the whorehouse.. All I know for sure is they threw me into a cell. A fat white
matron... saw was still bleeding, she felt sorry for me and gave me a couple glasses of milk.
But nobody else did anything for me except give me filthy looks and snicker to themselves.
After a couple of days in a cell they dragged me into a court. The rapist got sentenced to five
years. They sentenced me to a Catholic institution."
[Billie Holliday in 1947]
She grew into a succesful jazz singer, but struggled with abusive relationships, and drug
addiction. She died of cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959. Sadly, it seems she didn't get
a chance to heal.
Sources:
http://www.cwluherstory.com/CWLUArchive/rape.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holliday
As Waters Passing By > Notable Survivors > Billie Holliday