Vocalist and actress Ethel Waters was a key figure in the development of African American culture between the two World Wars. She broke barrier after barrier, becoming the first black woman heard on the radio, the first black singer to perform on television, the first African American to perform in an integrated cast on Broadway, and the first black woman to perform in a lead dramatic role on Broadway. She was the second African American nominated for an Academy Award. (Hattie McDaniel was first

Ethel Waters performs the Oscar-nominated "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe" in Vincente Minnelli's CABIN IN THE SKY ('43). #BlackHistoryMonth #31DaysOfOscar | Turner Classic Movies: TCM

Ethel Waters received her sole Oscar nomination for her role in PINKY ('49). The film was Twentieth Century Fox's top-grossing film of 1949. #31DaysOfOscar #BlackHistoryMonth | Turner Classic Movies: TCM