From USA TODAY:
The term “class act” might not have been coined specifically for Lena Horne, who died Sunday night at age 92 in New York City. But it has suited few public figures as well.
Over a life that spanned nine decades and a career that lasted nearly as long, the singer, actress and civil rights champion remained a paragon of elegance and dignity, whether dazzling movie fans, wowing live audiences or campaigning for racial equality.
“She is a lady,” Leslie Uggams”, one of many female African-American performers inspired and empowered by Horne’s example, said in 2007. Before Horne, Uggams noted, “Black women were only allowed to play maids in the movies, and all of a sudden, the black community had this goddess.”
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