Moms Mabley
Social satirist Jackie "Moms" Mabley is largely unknown to contemporary audiences, but her impact on successive generations of both female and African-American comics remains estimable. Born Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard, NC on March 19, 1894, her early life was married by tragedy. Being one of a twelve children, when she was eleven, her father, a volunteer firefighter, was killed when his fire truck overturned and exploded, and her mother was later fatally struck by a mail truck. Before the age of thirteen, Aiken was also raped twice--once by an older black man, then by Brevard's white sheriff. Both violations resulted in pregnancy, and she ultimately left her children in her grandmother's care and relocated in Cleveland, Ohio, living with a minister's family. There she began singing and dancing in local shows, befriending local entertainers including Jack Mabley, who became her boyfriend. Their relationship proved ill-fated, and when Aiken's brother expressed......
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Approximate Word Count: 611
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |