BLACK HISTORY MONTH THROWBACK PHOTOS: EARTHA KITT IN 1952
Check out these beautiful photos that legendary photographer Gordon Parks took of singer/dancer/actress Eartha Kitt when she was just 25 years old. She is pictured sitting in the streets in 1950s NYC and below on her bicycle.
Eartha passed away in late 2008 at the age of 81, but she will forever be known for her sultry voice, dance moves, sex appeal and her outspokenness. She was and still is an international symbol of elegance and sensuality.
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All this month during Black History Month, Concrete Loop will be posting Throwback photos of legendary Icons in Black History. Make sure to check the site for the latest.
( Photos: GORDON PARKS FOR LIFE MAGAZINE )
Posted in BLACK HISTORY THROWBACKS
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Wow! That’s all I can say! Simply breath taking!
Man this is classic. She was a cutie too!
The Rihanna Of That Time…..
Wow she is beautiful, and even looks better in black and white photography
Class.
Tatiana Ali looks a bit like her. I think so anyway.
that in the tree shot is awesome. the photographer is amazing
classic picture……she was beautiful!!
Kitt was the shit!
FEARLESS!!!!!!
I love people who do them and life on their own terms!
Beautiful. These are some exclusive pics that CL has posted. With regards to Malcom X.. and now Eartha Kitt.. amazing!
Eartha Kitt was not the Rhianna of her time. That is an insult and Ms.Kitt would not take that as a compliment. She was a trained singer and actress who was alluring and sophisticated. She was a sex kitten because she had sex appeal but not sexualized. Please know who Ms.Kitt was before comparing her to these young celebs. Besides, Ms. Kitt was a ryder who stood up for human rights and wasn’t afraid or ashame to speak up even when it damaged her career in the states. MsKitt didn’t have to wear make up or extreme fashions, she was simply elegant. Not a Diva, but Glamourous.
xxx
absolutly beautiful photos!
she had some class!
like alot of our women back in the day xxxxx beauiful x
Thank you # 10! I agree with everything you said! Not to sound like a “hater”, but Rihanna is no where near her level!
I love it…
Thanks!
Give me more!!
simple put…..timeless……..
Ha! Rihanna could never hold a candle to Eartha Kitt.
Very well said lol. I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw the oversized forehead and her overexposure. She was certainly the “Rihanna” of her time. What Eartha Kitt was known for was being a whore that would sleep with lines of white men to cement her fame. How she became regal is beyond me lol. I guess when whores reach a certain age, they attain a certain “integrity” lol. Furthermore, she was not “black”.
JUDAH…
you have alot of nerve speaking about my cousin that way…
She (EARTHA) NEVER slept wit “white men” to make her way in Hollywood…She married a white man and made him her husband but NEVER I repeat NEVER did it to gain any kind of fame.
IF THAT WAS THE CASE…Then a white man would not have BLACKBALLED her for the way that she felt about what the “white man” was doing to HER people.
HOW DARE YOU INSULT HER!!!
OH AND FOR THE RECORD. check my name…it is Kitt!
EARTHA AND MY GRANDMOTHER WERE 1ST COUSINS…EARTHA was born in Charleston S.C…
WHAT AN IDIOT!!!
Phenomenal Woman…..
I think Zoe Saldana resembles her a bit in these pics.
Judah STFU. Eartha was born in the cotton picking fields of S.C. back in 1927 and she wasn’t black? Yeah whatever. She was mixed with Indian and white, but she is still black. You always got something to say. Your mama or daddy black – you black. Ask Obama!
Keep up the good work CL
Earha Kitt was a legend. She was beautiful, graceful, and iconic. & I swear she and my grandma can pass as sisters.
I agree with @17. Zoe Saldana does resemble her in these pics.
Eartha Kitt was amazing..Original Catwoman “puuurrrfeect” I loved her voice!
@Yokoo_Uno
Your father carries the seed (Numbers 1:18, Job 8:8, etc.). If your father is a so-called white man, you are the seed of your father. I don’t care what your mother is. This is why mixed race blacks, especially those with caucasian fathers tend to age like caucasians do, which is terribly i.e. Faith Evans. The “any black ancestor in your family tree makes you black” doctrine comes from the white man himself when the “founding fathers” were fighting over which states would have the most power. The slavemasters wanted to count their slaves as actual people, which is how they concocted the 3/5 of a man rule and the 1/16 drop rule. The white man is the one who has concocted alot of things that so-called pro-black people espouse as “black pride”. Like Rihanna, who’s father is also “white”, Eartha Kitt had an off spirit.
AND THAT MAKES YOUR SPIRIT WHAT????
Eartha was and always will remain a legend in the eyes of cinema. We don’t really see movie icons like her anymore.
MS. Kitt. That’s right. Do the research…. Anna Lucasta, The W.C. Handy story (starring the inimitable Nat King Cole), and countless other films BEFORE Boomerang. MS. Kitt was a member of Katherine Dunham’s dance company, went on to being a celebrated singer slash dancer slash actress of stage and film AND philanthropist. Truly legendary…
Lady Eloise said: “Marcus Darling…I don’t have any panties on”.
Eartha Kitt = Legend
Gordon Parks = Legend
@ Meat
LMAO!!! Eartha Kitt and Grace Jones stole the show in Boomerang
Okay… kind of embarrassed, I didn’t know Ms. Kitt passed or maybe I forgot. BUT LOL @ the Rhianna comparison… couldn’t come up with anyone else, eh?
Stories like this are why I LOVE CL!!! GREAT story!!!!
Pls don’t insult Ms. Kitt. She spoke several languages fluently and had class to drown you in. To compare a woman of her class and quality to Rhianna is shameful.
Ms. Kitt was also very talented and wouldn’t have been seen in videos about Russian roulette and umbrella.
Great photo….and I love her short pants!
I’m loving these Throwback Photos posts!
Catwoman..lol .. she was a tru artist of her time and beyond. : )
BE-A-TI-FUL!!!! WOW! SHE IS GREATLY MISSED!! GO ON EARTHA KITT!
very beautiful.. i see her in her hot pants, lol
Judah:
My brotha, Ri Ri’s father is West Indian ( Bajan) of African decent. I know you intend to discredit teh white man for his crimes against teh black man, however, if you are to truely “shame the devil,” you must “tell the truth.”
For her political stance on race relations and civil rights, she was black balled by the Nixion and administration and subsequently was unable to find work in the united states (no more TV appearances). this, however, back fired on them because she went to France and became an even bigger star internationally. She was a testimony to the resilience, resourcefulness, beauty and fortitude of the Black woman.
Black Beauty!
Beautiful. Love these photos.
Gorgeous!
Oh ya another screen saver I see. I love the throwbacks, L-O-V-E it!
Eartha Kitt had nice legs. And nice photos, thanks for sharing Concreteloop.
Ms. Kitt had beautiful legs ……… insured for one million, back in the day
my goodness the dumb f#cks comparing Eartha Kitt to that chick SMHHH what a downright insult under her post
this woman is amazing
and these pictures are nothing less then breathtaking
Eartha was beautiful back in the day and somebody should make a movie about Gordon Parks he was a very talented brother, a great photographer, a groundbreaking filmmaker who made the movie Shaft , a musician ,poet,and journalist.
Yooko: THANK YOU! Eartha Kitt was indeed Black. Why is it that when it’s something bad, you’re definitely Black (like Tiger Woods is now), but when it’s good, you’re not Black enough (like President Obama), as if the Black part of them didn’t cement their intelligence, beauty, or fame. To the contrary…it’s the Black part of them that adds the spice, the beauty, the intelligence, the interest, and amazes so many white people as if Blacks can’t be all of that!
Let me hurt your feelings…some of the people you don’t know are Black…Nicole Ritchie (her mother is Black), The Rock (father is Samoan..Black, check out Be Cool & look at his AFRO (his real hair which is why he keeps it cut for most roles, he said it not me) & his cornrows ok!, Jessica Alba (yeah her too, very mixed) and her husband Cash Warren (his father is Michael Warren of Hill Street Blues (80′s cop tv), Rosario Dawson (yes, mixed too but Black), Vin Diesel (yes he really is)…..
Rihanna can’t hold a candle to Eartha Kitt, that is an insult. Eartha was an entertainer til the end (check out Boomerang, Marcus darling…Classic), Rihanna is just a nut with a pretty face (doesn’t have the good sense God gave her).
No ONE Can Compare…
Love these pics. How did she walk in those sandals? Looks like theyre missing a strap
Accepting “black history mo” is just affirming and cementing white ownwership of black in america. Its accepting the parent child relationship we have with them, here and around the world. Our history dates back far beyond this and they’re own.
While I may not believe they are “devils” I do believe that we cannot cont to to be hooked on them, and all the hand outs they give. They are a very insecure race that the devil has used to reak havoc apon this world.
Eartha Kitt ( a literal sex kitten) in all her cuteness and her ‘symbolism’ as our ‘history’ is nothing but an injustice to who we are. Just say no and the tables will turn, or cont accepting, and they will rule you forever
Eartha kit as a prominent symbol of blk history is an insult and an injustice, just like wellfare,
W*i*e R*a** are not d#e*vIs just very insecure ppl, used by the d#V*l to reak havoc on thw world.
Most nations have been mixed with them, so hell no we are not all of a impure seed. They are of us…we made them, so that is impossible.
Let them cont to give you hand outs like blk hist and they will rule forever.
Beautiful to the max. Such a classic and so peaceful. She looks so happy and free.
Man I pray to god Janet Domita Jo Jackson gets the OK to play this Iconic woman on film, or even Anika Tony Rose.
I THINK TATIYAN ALI AND RIHANNA CAN PASS OFF AS HER LONG LOST DAUGHTERS
@Capital G
Rihanna’s father is of caucasian descent on his father’s side. Europe has always been the place to run for blacks that have been blackballed or who happen to no longer be “hot”. The civil rights movement and the penalty paid by certain blacks who espoused it’s propaganda after it’s usefulness to mainstream society came to an end is a whole other topic.
@Toni
Miss, maybe you have trouble reading or comprehending. You cannot “hurt my feelings” because this is not an emotional matter lol. Again, your lineage is based on your father’s seed. Maybe that’s too deep for you. Only drinks are “mixed”. There is no country called “black”, and no forefather called “black”, so the term “black” has no relevance whatsoever aside from conventional conversation. This is what I mean when I say that black people use doctrines taught by the white man to push a phony form of “pro-blackness”. The “white” man called himself “white” and our people “black” for denotative and connotative purposes. No other races identify themselves by their color other than “whites” and “blacks”. That is how one knows that to do so is a sign of ignorance. Let me break it down as simply as I can. If you plant an appleseed in America, China, or Japan, an apple tree will grow because of the seed. The soil and weather may effect the appearance of the tree, but the tree will still be an apple tree no matter where it’s from.
don’t pay attention to the erroneous comparison that was made. such an insult to eartha
eartha was effortlessly fierce unlike that other star who has handlers to hone her image. eartha was incredibly talented (she actually could sing lol) and she was very intelligent (spoke several languages). eartha is the type of woman who has presence without even trying. i still remember watching “i want to be evil” and just being mesmerized. that’s when i fell in love with her lol. she was so playful yet sexy at the same time and it came so natural to her. it’s women like her that i respect. why is it that the pioneers are so much flyer than the mainstream women out now? what happened? they had this elegance that is lost now. like how bee might have a bigger range than tina, but something about tina is so organic and bee will never have that.
@JUDAH her father is part white and part black. should i hate myself or be looked down upon b/c my mom has white and chinese ancestry? i bet you have something in you too
@ Judah
Wait…so how far should one look back into their lineage to find out if their “black” or “white”?
Your theory is warped.
In that case, your great great great great great grandfather on your father’s side could have been white. So I guess you’re white too Judah.
Lol.
LOL @ ALL YALL COMMENTING ON MY POST….ALL THAT & I STILL STAND BY WHAT I SAID FOR “MY PERSONAL” REASONS. SMH
Eartha Kitt is a doll. She was gorgeous. The comparisons of Tatiana and Zoe Saldana looking like her are good comparisons. But that one comment about her being the “Rihana” of her time, child please subscribe to TMC and look at some classic movies. PLEASE!!!!!!!! Rihanna has NOTHING on ANY legend before her time or at this time.