Guiding The Light to Equality..from Hollywood to Washington...Ruby Dee [1924 - ]

DURING THE GOLDEN AGE of Hollywood, from the nineteen thirties through the fifties, few moviegoers were exposed to the full range of talents of black actors and actresses. Rare was the feature film that explored the complexity of black life in America, and for BLACK WOMEN actors LENA HORNE, HATTIE MCDANIEL and DOROTHY DANDRIGE, opportunities for career growth in the industry were few and far between. Indeed, as the calm conformity of the fifties gave way to the socially turbulent sixties, most black film actresses refused to play the limited stereotyped parts written for them. Eventually, the public’s awakening to the great potential of the nation’s African-American actors would bring about a revolution in the movie business.

For the award-winging actress Ruby Dee, the link between social beliefs and artistic integrity has always been strong and inescapable...For Ruby, her personal battles with the narrow restrictions of Hollywood community were well worth effort. Some forty years after she made her acting debut, she stands as a GUIDING LIGHT for many black actresses. From Angela Basset to Whitney Houston and Halle Berry, Ruby Dee represents the magnificent contribution black women have made to the nation’s modern cinema canon. And after starring in more than a dozen award-winning films over three decades--including LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S Raisin in the Sun and Spike Lee’s Let’s Do the Right Thing-Ruby Dee certainly embodies the depth of spirit and commitment BLACK WOMEN have brought to America’s most popular cultural arena--major motion pictures.

Ruby Dee has also lent her unique talent and insights to other artistic venues, including book publishing, the Broadway stage and commercial and public television. She has exemplified a mixture of creative versatility and political activism that is a benchmark of our democratic right to personal expression. During the sixties, for example, Ruby found time to raise a family, march and organize in the civil rights movement, and appear in several outstanding film and stage productions. Her level of dedication and artistic vision are legendary... During the last few years, Ruby has received almost as many honors for her social activism, including an NAACP Image Award, as she has for her stage and film work, including an Emmy Award and an Obie Award.

With her fifty-year marriage to writer, actor and director Ossie Davis, Ruby is also a model of old-fashioned values. For Ruby it all comes down to a belief in oneself and in the potential for greatness that exists in all of us. From earliest days as a struggling young actress in New York, Ruby has managed to turn her deepest beliefs into the purest forms of artistic expression...Born Ruby Ann Wallace on October 27, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio, Ruby moved with her family to New York when she was very young. Growing up in Harlem during the twenties and thirties, Ruby was exposed to the work of several legendary musicians and writers, including Duke Ellington and ZORA ZEALE HURSTON. Collectively, these prolific artists made up the Harlem Renaissance, an era in which blacks produced outstanding works of art and literature that stand today as models of creativity.

...After graduating from high school in 1945, Ruby enrolled in Hunter College in New York. Not sure of what her path in life might take, Ruby was certain of one thing: she knew she had to explore the “acting bug” that seemed to have gripped her...After graduating from Hunter with a liberal arts degree, Ruby turned her attention to studying acting. It was an exhilarating time in America, with World War II ending in triumph for the United States and the national economy experiencing an enormous postwar boom.

For Ruby getting up each day and making her to the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library that housed the theater was like a dream come true...While studying at the America Negro Theater, Ruby worked with such future stars as Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte...By the end of the forties, Ruby had become one of the best known young black actresses in New York.. In 1946, Ruby had made her debut on Broadway as a supporting actor in an ANT [American Negro Theater] production of the hit drama Anna Lucasta. Starring an all-black cast, the play concerned love and the struggle for identity among African Americans. It was a smash hit... Although still in her twenties, Ruby was maturing into a thoughtful, dedicated professional. When she auditioned for a role in a play called Jeb...she encountered a tall black man with a deep voice who would change her life...She soon fell for the promising artist and they married in 1948. The couple had three children, and, as of this writing, were the grandparents of seven youngsters. Moreover, during their long marriage, Ruby and Ossie have worked together in numerous stage, film, and television productions...

In the late fifties Ruby appeared in...one of the most celebrated social drama of its era-Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun... The motion picture version was also a success and Ruby’s portrayal of the young wife struggling to help her husband deal with anger and rejection won critical raves. During the early years of their marriage, Ruby and Ossie discovered that they shared a keen interest in the roiling social issues of the day. Together, they joined some of the leading voices in the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT and helped establish a tight-knit group of celebrities who pledged their time and energy FIGHTING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN AMERICA, including LENA HORNE, Harry Belafonte, and composer Bill Strayhorn. Ruby and Ossie also befriended...Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King... For most of the sixties, Ossie and Ruby attended marches and protests in the Deep South and in the Northeast. The couple appeared in dozens of stage and film productions but always managed to answer the call for help when the cause was something they believed in...

In a characteristically honest gesture, Ruby delivered a eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X in 1965. Her words, soft-spoken and straight from the heart, included the now-legendary description of Malcolm X as “our shining black prince.” To be sure Ruby believed Malcolm was misunderstood and unfairly characterized through much of his life. “Malcolm was a credit to the WORLD, “ Ruby said...

Even as Ruby continued refining and improving her craft, she explored other means of self expression. Her books included a collection of essays and poems derived from her life and from African folk tales, “My One Good Nerve," and a collection of humorous poems and essays titled “Take it from the Top.” Along the way, Ruby wrote and directed stage plays, notably "Zora is my Name," a 1983 production based on the life of and work of ZORA NEALE HURSTON...

In the nineties, Ruby remained an active part of the nation’s creative and socially active community, appearing in benefit productions and fund-raising events for a host of worthy causes...After more than forties years in the public eye, Ruby entranced a new generation of fans with her touching monologues and sketches examining the joys, heartache, and triumphs of her life...For the young black performers who follow in her footsteps, Ruby Dee’s accomplishments serve as a FORMIDABLE example of the enlightening, productive work they could someday contribute to America.


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Excerpts from “Fifty Black Women Who Changed America”

Alexander, Amy “Fifty Black Women Who Changed America” New Jersey: Birch Lane Press, 1999:147