Hazel Scott A Woman, a Piano, and a Commitment to Justice

Hazel Scott was a champion for civil and women’s rights. Born in Trinidad in 1920, she moved with her family to the United States in 1924. She was a musical wonder—studying and performing on the piano from the time she was a child. She became an accomplished singer as well, and appeared in Broadway musicals, films, and recorded her own albums. She also made headlines by standing up for the rights of women and African Americans, and she refused to play for segregated audiences. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March on Washington, Hazel led a march in Paris, where she was living, in front of the American Embassy. She learned about the Bahá’í Faith from Dizzy Gillespie and became a Bahá’í on December 1, 1968. She passed away in 1981. We invite you to learn more about this “Change Maker” and the enduring impact she had on race relations through her performing arts.

Susan Engle earned a BFA in Theater Arts from Denison University in 1972 and began to work as a stage manager for the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra the following year. After her twin daughters were born in 1973, Susan began writing songs and poems for children. In partnership with friends and family, she published more than seventy over the years, including several award-winning music CDs. Since her retirement in 2017, Susan has been writing and publishing tiny books. To see them and read her poetry, visit www.IambicNana.com. She currently resides in West Lafayette, Indiana. Luthando Mazibuko has previously illustrated Mema Says Good-Bye by Cynthia Jaskwhich and How Riley Tamed the Invisible Monster by Dawn Garrott. He has had a passion for drawing since his early childhood in South Africa and holds a BFA in illustration from Northern Illinois University and an MAT in fine art from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.