Florence Mills Deck Card

One card in The Battleground Deck. This is Florence Mills.

Florence Mills (January 25, 1896—November 1, 1927) billed as the “Queen of Happiness”, was an African American vaudeville singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence. She became well known in New York through her role in the hit Broadway musical Shuffle Along at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. Mills was an outspoken supporter of equal rights for African Americans; her signature song “I’m a Little Blackbird” was a plea for racial equality. While on tour in Europe in 1926, she became ill from tuberculosis, and died of an infection after being hospitalized for exhaustion. She was 31 years old.