Partial Transcript: By the 1940s, Hazel Scott was touring the country, known for her unique style of piano and singing, combining classical music with jazz. Her short film career was now cursed by Columbia Picture’s head Harry Cohn. 

“I have always been a very strong feminine creature,” Hazel said, “and to subdue me a very, very strong masculine creature is required.” Enter Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. 

He was born on Nov 29th, 1908. When his family moved from Connecticut to Harlem, he had his first brush with racism. The Powell family were mostly light-skinned of African, European and Native American ancestry. His lighter complexion did often lead to bullying, with one block of black children and another block of Italian and Irish children demanding to know if he was white or black. In order to survive, Adam became what people needed him to be, black in black crowds and white in white crowds. This chameleon-like adjustment was the beginning of his natural charisma that would make him a successful politician. 

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