Circa 1934

Fredi Washington was a Multiracial (then commonly known as Mulatto) woman, living through a time when a Black ethnic label was forced upon her by the dominate culture. A fair-skinned women with green eyes, she was often equally disliked by both Black and White film fans. Still she got a chance to show her talent in films. Her first film performance was with Duke Ellington in a musical short, "Black and Tan", as a dancer. In Hollywood she was urged to "pass" for fully White by studio heads, who said they would make her a bigger star than Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford,Constance Bennett and Greta Garbo. Fredi refused. Her best-known role was as Peola in the film Imitation of Life (1934). She appeared with Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones (1933) and in a few other films with her skin darkened. Her best work was on the stage, her best stage performance being in "Mamba's Daughters" with Ethel Waters. Fredi never made it to the top like her contemporaries Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker and Nina Mae McKinney because she didn't look black enough. But Fredi had what it took, and it is evident in the few films that she did do. Ms. Washington passed away on June 28 1994 at the age of 90. She left Hollywood in good hands thanks to the likes of Lonette Mckee, Halle Berry, Jasmine Guy and Mariah Carey who have all followed in her footsteps.