From the archives: this article was originally published on March 9, 2023

Emma Hackley

THE WIZ strikes a chord with Colorado’s musical roots. Fun fact: Denver once served as a mecca for Jazz musicians and singers, including Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. Other trailblazing Black women performed in the Mile High City. Here’s a brief overview of a few iconic Black female musicians.

EMMA HACKLEY

Born in 1867, Emma Smith was a classical singer, writer, activist, social worker, and philanthropist. Emma’s mother, Corilla, arranged private violin and voice lessons for Emma at age three. Emma and her family moved to Detroit, where she joined the Detroit Musical Society, played in a Black orchestra, and performed at local voice recitals.

Edwin Hackly, a lawyer, writer, and clerk, eloped with Emma in 1894 and they moved to Denver. Emma obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from the Denver College of Music. In 1901, she began her first concert tour with a debut show in Denver. She used African-American spiritual songs as tools for social change, leading to spirituals used in freedom songs during the Civil Rights Movement.

Emma also penned a book of lectures she gave young Black girls in boarding schools called The Colored Girl Beautiful. Each chapter covers different topics from youth and maturity to religion, marriage, self-control and motherhood.

Charlotte Cowens and two musicians. Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections

CHARLOTTE MOSLEY COWENS

Born in Denver (date unknown), Charlotte Mosley Cowens was a jazz pianist who learned to play by ear. She often played gigs at Five Points’ Rossonian Hotel and toured with Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Cowens was awarded Miss Senior Denver in the 1979 Colorado Senior America Pageant.

LOUISE DUNCAN

Roxanne Brown

Born in 1914 in Iola, Kansas, Louise Duncan was a jazz pianist who played for Duke Ellington around the 1940s. In 1988, the Denver Black Arts Festival created and gave Duncan the first Louise Duncan Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts. She was called “Colorado’s First Lady of Jazz.”

Duncan’s daughter, Roxanne Brown who followed in her mother’s footsteps, played a tribute concert to honor Duncan at the La Cour Bistro & Art Bar in March 2019 and at Denver’s Dazzle for Mother’s Day 2019.

These Black trailblazing women left their mark through their music and beliefs. Despite the torment they and other African Americans experienced for their skin color, they persevered and stood as a symbol of hope for their culture and descendants.