NPR's Michel Martin talks to Donald Bogle about his book Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed. She was a pioneering star of stage and screen in the 1940s, at a time when Hollywood was loathe to show either.

In this book excerpt by Donald Bogle, Lena Horne recalls the day she won over MGM’s Louis B. Mayer and grasped her star-is-born moment.

No entertainer's journey more acutely reflects the shifts and struggles in race relations through the 20th century than that of Lena Horne. Many black stars were as iconic and, frankly, more talented.

The daughter of Lena Horne, an author of two books about her family's history tracing back to enslavement, died last month. She was 86 years old. After a break, ...

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Donald Bogle about his book Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed. She was a pioneering star of stage and screen in the 1940s, at a time when Hollywood was loathe to show either.

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Donald Bogle about his book Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed. She was a pioneering star of stage and screen in the 1940s, at a time when Hollywood was loathe to show either.

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Donald Bogle about his book Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed. She was a pioneering star of stage and screen in the 1940s, at a time when Hollywood was loathe to show either.