Reel (Hollywood Renaissance 1)

15

Dessi Blue

May 8, 1936

Mama,

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write, but a lot has happened and I haven’t had time. I can hear you saying I just didn’t make time! You right, but I do have a lot to tell you.

I’m not working at the Cotton Club anymore. I know you hoped one day they’d find me in the kitchen washing dishes and decide I should be on stage, but that never happened. I wasn’t “Tall, Tan and Terrific” enough for them! They want that high yellow. I would still be there washing dishes if it wasn’t for my new friend Matilda Hargrove. We met at the Lafayette Theatre. I know you and Daddy used to go see the bands down there. Well, they did a Shakespeare play with all Black folks. Macbeth! Can you believe that? I never seen so many people trying to get into one place. I went down there opening night to get me a ticket. They were selling them outside for near $4! Some of them even five. Too rich for my blood, so I gave up, but I met Tilda, who gave me one of her tickets. Her beau never showed. But we got to talking and she set me up with some work.

Now I already see your face, Mama. I ain’t got a pimp and I ain’t hustling. It’s honest work down at the Savoy Ballroom. Tilda works there, hostessing. We teach the men who come in there who don’t know how to dance. We just show them the steps and they pay us! Better than washing dishes, I tell you the truth. Pay is better, too.

I know you been worried about me up here by myself since you moved back home, but I couldn’t go back to Alabama, not after New York. It ain’t perfect here for Black folks, but they ain’t hanging us from trees. We had that riot last year in Harlem, but it’s not as bad as down South. I’m never living down there.

I know you miss Daddy. I do, too. I understand why you wanted to go back and be with family, but I can’t. And see? I found a new friend!

I left the boarding house, too. Me and Tilda put our money together and we’re in an apartment down off 139th Street, not too far from the Savoy. We in the middle of everything. Everybody comes through. I feel alive, Mama. I’ve been so sad, what with Daddy passing and you leaving, but working at the Savoy, this new place with Tilda, it feels like things are looking up.

Tilda’s cousin takes pictures for The Crisis. He took this one of us at the House Beautiful that night. Ain’t we pretty? I’m also including $20. I’ll send more when I can. I hope it helps. Kiss Granny and Aunt Ruth and Cousin Belle. All of them. Tell them hey and I love you all.

Yours,

Odessa

16

Canon

The trip to Alabama was enlightening and broadened our understanding of Dessi’s journey, but I’m glad to be back in LA. I got off the plane and came straight to the production offices. The things we found in Alabama have changed everything. Dessi’s family always assumed she had two great loves: Cal Hampton and music.

Turns out there were three.

Tilda Hargrove was Dessi’s first love. Before she met Cal Hampton hostessing at the Savoy. Before he discovered Dessi could sing like an angel. Before she performed at Café Society, joining greats like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne and Hazel Scott. Before Cal and Dessi struck off for Europe to tour with a band and eventually married . . . before all that, Dessi loved Tilda Hargrove. And Tilda Hargrove loved her. In addition to the newspaper clippings, Dessi saved love letters they exchanged while she was touring Europe and Tilda remained in Harlem.

Not shocking. Many of the women from that era sang openly about their bisexuality. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith. Hell, even Billie had at least one documented affair with another woman, Tallulah Bankhead. Unearthing that as part of Dessi’s story made sense and simply adds depth to what I know about her as a character as we tell her story. For a family member, though, especially one from the Bible Belt, who may or may not want that known about Dessi, it’s not as simple.

Surprisingly, Neevah was the one who broached the subject with Katherine.

One of Neevah’s greatest assets, and she has many, is how she makes you feel you’ve known her all your life. There’s this accessibility that comes across not only when she performs, but any time you’re around her. I saw it in how quickly she and Verity clicked. I observed how much Katherine trusted her after a few hours of conversation out on the front porch, just the two of them and a pitcher of lemonade. Discussing the things we found about Dessi with Katherine could have been awkward, but Neevah had already paved the way, lowering Katherine’s guard with her easy smile and open manner. When I first approached Katherine about optioning Dessi’s life story, I think she saw an opportunity. Financial, yes, but also a chance to celebrate her mother’s contributions; to bring her the recognition she deserves. When she looked at Neevah, she saw a friend. Someone whom, after only a few hours, she trusted. Seeing their natural rapport, I tasked Neevah with discussing our discoveries and asking Katherine if we could include them in the movie.