Women's History Month: Ethel Waters

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, United Way celebrates the memory of another Delaware County woman who made her mark on this community, Ethel Waters. Ethel was a blues, jazz, and gospel vocalist from Chester, Pennsylvania. At the start of her life she faced great hardship; she was the child of a rape victim and lived in impoverished conditions. She was married early in life but her husband abused her, so she decided to run away and pursue a singing career. Despite the tremendous challenges she encountered at the beginning of her life, she persevered and soon garnered success as a vaudeville performer. In the 1920s she performed during the Harlem Renaissance, and continued to act in musicals and sing the blues. Ethel then became the fifth African American woman ever to have a record, and continued to record hits such as “Dinah” which got her inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. She continued to achieve great success with her performances and recordings, and later became the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for her role in “Pinky”. In 1999, Ethel was inducted into the Delaware County Women’s Hall of Fame. Ethel Waters‘s memory still permeates throughout the community because of her fame and success. However, her significance in Women’s History stems from the fact she did not let her past dictate her future; she instead let her talent and drive make her a star.



To learn more about Ethel Waters, go here.