The Caged Bird: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price

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Florence Price (1883-1953) was the first African-American woman whose music was performed by major symphony orchestras. In 1933 the famous Chicago Symphony performed her 'Symphony in E minor' at the World's Fair. She also composed over 50 songs which were sung by the great Marian Anderson. In Anderson's legendary Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, the last song on the program was written by Florence Price. Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and her father, James H. Smith, was the first black dentist in Chicago - but after the great Chicago fire he relocated to Arkansas. He was more than a great dentist, he also held many patents, had a painting exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and was the author of two novels. After an appalling lynching in Little Rock near her home, the Price family moved to Chicago and here she met and collaborated with important figures in the 'Black Renaissance' including Langston Hughes and Katherine Dunham. This 57 minute documentary tells her life story with many recently discovered photos and also presents many fine performances of her music to underscore her accomplishments. The poet Paul Laurence Dunbar used the metaphor of a "caged bird" for the oppression of black Americans. This is the story of a woman who refused to accept the limited aspirations that were expected of her race and gender, who would not be a "caged bird." This is the story of Florence B. Price.