Brown Sugar (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Donald Bogle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Da Capo Paperback | Publication Date: March 21, 1990

And we can't forget the others: Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Katherine Dunham, Hazel Scott, Marian Anderson, Dinah Washington, Pearl Bailey, Dorothy Dandridge, Leontyne Price, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Tina Tuner...Brown Sugar narrates the triumphant struggle of these women to make it in the entertainment undustry against overwhelming odds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306803801
• ISBN-13: 978-0306803802
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,105,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful treasury on Black American women!, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brown Sugar (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I purchased this book during the mid-80's, in hardback. I still have the original edition. It remains one of my keepsakes along with my family photo album! Every black woman should have this book. Whenever you think you are having a hard time, this book shows each lady's up and down. The Black woman tries to distinguish herself and positively represent other Black Americans under the evil Hollywood eye of racism in the entertainment industry from the 1920's to present.

This book really enlightened me about early performers such as Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Moms Mabley, Bessie Smith and many others. Thank you so much Donald Bogle for tackling a tough and inspiring subject with excellent journalism and research.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It must for all..., April 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Brown Sugar (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I have had this book since I saw the PBS special several years ago. This is an outstanding book filled with wonderful beautiful pictures. Many of the stories are sad, because many black entertainers did not get their just "due" for all of the contributions they made. By reading this book, you can see what music and entertainment was, and what it really needs to be again! Great Book!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bogle writes from a white's perspective of Blacks!, July 14, 2002

By 

MeMyselfandI (MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brown Sugar (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

Brown Sugar is the best title he has given to any of his books, the other titles for his books are bigoted and racist. The title is deceiving, he doesn't applaud Black females achievements much.

Here's a long but informative review.
Naturally since Bogle is the only one writing about early Black film stars people believe everything he says. He plays it safe by always talking about the same ole' stars that he talked about in his last books. Never does he introduce the public to unsung talents we never heard of. He spends most of the time talking about how mulatto, how light or how dark such and such is and how such and such couldn't do this or that because of this or that. When whites write on their stars they don't write about how blonde, how brunette or how red head someone was and how Irish or Italian one looked. Which proves how stuck on skin color Blacks really are! Why do Blacks feel they always have to spend time talking about race instead of giving these stars their recognition and due, forgetting how they look and telling of their life and versatile careers, who they really were, where they come from, making one reading feel like they knew the person all their lives, make one feel the happiness and sadness.
Bogle spends more time on what they didn't do then what they did do. Which is sad, the public is missing out on a lot. So again, do for yourself the research and don't' depend on others all the time.

Bogle loves talking about how white Fredi Washington looked instead of writing about her extensive, incredible career, she done more in her life then most of us could dream about it, she didn't let others prejudices hold her back. She was no tragic mulatto, another stupid name, minus well call Stepin Fetchit a tragic ni**er which he wasn't, he was the first black millionaire and no more of a stereotype then Black pimps, gangsters of today who are getting rich off of it like Step got rich off of his stereotype. Fredi will be the first to say she had a great life and career. She wasn't sad or confused but a strong black woman. Bogle is no better than a white writer who puts down a black but thinks its okay to coin a book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks because he's black, I'm sure if a white titled a book that we be yelling racism, don't Black talents deserve a better title?

Bogle also plays it safe by always talking about Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, never telling the stories and never giving recognition to other black actresses like Nina Mae McKinney, Mildred Washington, Theresa Harris, Fredi Washington, Edna Mae Harris, Florence O'Brien, Louise Franklin, Daisy Bufford, Jeni LeGon Evelyn Preer, Suzette Harbin, Hilda Simms, Francine Everett, Shirley Haven and countless of others who had a chance to display their talents on the screen in Hollywood and helped fight discrimination and help in the enhancement and betterment of blacks on screen but he gives all the credit to Horne and Dandridge, who didn't do as much as others if you want to get down to the truth, but I'm glad he don't talk about them in a way because he'll butcher up their life stories, I'll give them their due though. Many aren't remembered because maybe they didn't do as much, who cares about who has done more, were suppose to be remembering them for accomplishments and talents, right? White film historians sure remember all their stars, little or big. Someone like Louise Brooks, considered a early Hollywood icon is highly regarded as a great actress despite she only had a few good films and wasnt a big movie star. The woman is more remembered for one good film and a bobbed hairstyle but white historians will make sure you know her, her achievements and what she DID DO for the film industry. Why can't Bogle be like that instead of criticizing everyone and judging them by white people's standards of what success and beauty is? I guess it's true that you gotta work twice as hard as whites to be someone in this world, whites can be remembered for little things, few successes, Blacks gotta have many successes to get rememberance and recognition even for other Blacks to remember them. Bogle is one of the few black film historians, you would think he would write more positively of blacks in Hollywood but he treats many worse then whites treated them when they were alive. Bogle never mentions Willie Covan and Marie Bryant (and appeared in movies also and was a good friend of Lena Horne's too) who choreograhed many white stars, they were behind the scenes but contributed to Hollywood. He suppose to be giving credit not taking away. Either Bogle is too lazy or likes to show favoritism because he sure won't tell other unsung talents stories. If he does he clutter it up with talking about their looks especially if he doesn't know how to write about them. Bogle knows nothing about the great career of Nina Mae McKinney, the first movie star of Hollywood and Europe, who done more films then any other black actress of her time, the first to appear on many magazines, she had so many achievements, yet he gives her one little page, if you don't know about a person, I rather you not write about them at all then to write lies. He never talks about the Black Cinema independent movie stars or the industry who was apart of American cinema, I guess their too hard for him to research, so he takes the easy path in writing about stars he already wrote about a million times. He never writes about Ethel Moses, Francine Everett, Dorothy Van Engle, Edna Mae Harris, Margaret Whitten, Tomiwitta Moore, Bee Freeman, Lorenzo Tucker, Monte Hawley, Ralph Cooper (created the first black studio in Hollywood), Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams and countless other black movie stars who appeared in films for blacks made by blacks in the 30's and 40's, I guess that's too mediocre for him but they done more for the enhancement of Blacks in movies by creating their own images, own roles, own portrayals, playing people from all walks of life unlike ones in Hollywood who were stuck playing the same types of roles and being the same images he always complaining about well I feel give due to ones who at least tried to do for themselves and become what they wanted but see they weren't cross-overs so their looked at as non-important by some which kind of dictated by whites who we should remembered and who's important. It's hard researching Black Cinema stars but boy it's worth it plus studying them, watching them perform gives you a good idea of who they were even if you can't find info on them. I still find the time to give them due and I'm no professional or anything but Bogle is a high class guy who only likes to write about Hollywood and his favorite gals Horne and Dandridge.


Ive done more research on unsung, forgotten stars then he has and it has been pleasurable teaching others on the net about blacks who contributed to stage and screen, stars who were just as important as Dandridge and Horne. I'm glad there are other people who are taking it upon themselves to tell the true stories of many unsung black legends and don't write in the same fashion as Bogle. Anyone who is hung up on skin color and don't want to think outside the box and like to hear the same stories then Bogle is for you but someone like me who researched many early black stars of stage and screen on my own and found out the real deal, found how they really were, found how they were really looked at, and found the true stories wouldn't appreciate Bogle's work much. I've talked with some legendary Blacks of the early years, some of their relatives also and they gave a completely different view then how Bogle describes them which shows he just goes by hearsay and documents and don't do accurate interviewing and researching.

I would think Bogle would spend more time on talking about the beauty of black women from dark to light and their wonderful achievements to the world. Black women are quite unique but instead Bogle tells the story of black women from white people's perspective it seems, he tells how black women were looked at from whites perspective not from a true black person's perspective that has pride for his race, maybe Bogle has a white person's way of thinking who is partial. Because I would commend these women, embrace and make the world embrace their beauty, courage, and talents; their many gifts to the world isn't as nearly written about as their skin tones are.
He loves spending time writing about how light, dark or mulatto someone looks. Again, he makes it seem like such and such suffered because she was mulatto, light or dark, come on man, if she had a tragic life it was her own fault if she suffered. He makes it seem like color and race was the problem for everything which is false, actually many of these women profited from the race sometimes and plus women in general face discrimination, no matter what race or color. Don't you think these women went through enough being judged by skin tone or looks, they wished in their life for being to judge their talent, at least give them that now, Bogle doesn't. Who isn't discriminated against in this world? Bogle makes it look like Black is a curse when these female performers change the world and introduce the world to their greatness and the greatness of the race. He loves talking about whether someone should of passed for white or not like when he's talking about the great Fredi Washington. He misses out on showcasing other great talents like Valaida Snow, Blanche Calloway, Una Mae Carlisle, Eunice Wilson, Adelaide Hall and others but that's okay because they have been written beautifully about by other writers. Well, many are dead so they cant stick up for themselves and Bogle takes advantage of that, he hasn't even interviewed or actually talked to ones who he writes about, he just goes by hearsay. Have your favorites but when you write a... Read more ›