Women of Controversy: Nina Mae McKinney

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2024

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nina Mae McKinney (1912-1967) was a Black American actress who performed in Hollywood and internationally in the 1930s. She was dubbed “The Black Garbo” and was the first African-American performer to receive a five-year contract with MGM. Yet because of racism and miscegenation codes, she was unable to gain a mainstream status. Today, she’s known as the “The First Black Movie Star.”

For Further Reading

This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy -- whether deserved or not.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, and Vanessa Handy. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before there was internet fraud and phone scams, there were always swindlers.
0:05.4	Female swindlers too.
0:07.4	Discover the stories of women from the past who not only survived, but thrived as con-artists and thieves.
0:16.6	How did they use their feminine characteristics to swindle in a world where men made the rules?
0:24.0	Join me, Lucy Worsley, historian and author, and my all-female team in ladies swindlers, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:35.2	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. This month we're talking
0:41.9	about women who found themselves at the center of controversy, whether deserved or not. Today we're
0:47.2	talking about a woman who set the blueprint for black actresses today. A woman who, unlike her predecessors,
0:52.9	would soar to new and uncharted heights.
0:55.6	But the Hays Code and racist ideologies would exile her from true stardom.
1:01.0	Introducing Nina May McKenney.
1:09.0	Nina was born on June 12, 1912 in Lancaster, South Carolina.
1:13.6	When she was just 12 years old, her parents moved to New York City in the hopes of finding
1:17.6	better job opportunities, but left young Nina behind.
1:21.6	The reasons for not taking their daughter vary from source to source, but what remains consistent
1:26.6	is that she was left in the
1:27.8	hands of her Aunt Carrie. For the next four years, Nina worked alongside her aunt as a domestic
1:33.6	for the affluent white family in town. Her job was to deliver and collect mail, and she did so
1:39.5	with flair. To entertain herself while running errands, Nina would perform stunts on her bicycle.
1:45.1	So much so, the people in town took notice any time she arrived.
1:49.8	One could argue that this was her first dive into showmanship.
1:53.5	From there, Nina continued performing.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Acast Creative Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Acast Creative Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.