EP 8 Valaida 🎺 🎺 🎺 Snow - The Black Woman Who Took Jazz Around The World | Women And Resistance

In this episode of Women and Resistance, Adesoji Iginla and Aya Fubara Eneli spotlight the extraordinary life of Valaida Snow, a Black woman performer who used music, performance, travel, and self-reinvention as acts of survival and refusal.  Valaida shares how talent, education, and style became tools for resisting racism, sexism, and erasure across the United States, Europe, and Asia. We discuss her childhood in a travelling performance family, her mastery of multiple instruments, her public reinventions, and the way she was overlooked in American music history despite her acclaim and influence. Takeaways *Valaida Snow explains why her life story contains shifting details, and how show business often required reinvention and performance as protection. *She describes growing up in a family of musicians and performers, with her mother Etta Snow teaching literacy, music, and discipline on the road. *Valaida reflects on being on stage from age five, mastering ten instruments by age fifteen, and turning education into a portable survival skill. *She discusses the racism built into early 20th-century entertainment, including minstrel traditions and segregated travel. *She explains how playing trumpet—a so-called man’s instrument—challenged gender norms, and how she paired it with glamorous stagewear. *She recalls touring Europe and Asia, finding opportunities abroad while recognising that Europe was far from free of prejudice. *The conversation touches on Harlem, Chicago, Broadway, and figures including Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, W. C. Handy, Earl Hines, and Ethel Waters. *Valaida describes the erasure of her contributions from credits and biographies, despite her work as a bandleader and performer. *She reflects on an abusive early marriage and leaving with the skills to support herself. *The episode addresses conflicting accounts of her wartime detention in Copenhagen and the ways stories about Black women performers can be distorted or simplified. Chapters 00:00 - What happens when a Black woman’s talent resists society’s categories 03:19 - A family of performers and the making of a musical childhood 05:41 - The Piccanini Troubadours and performing inside racist systems 07:25 - Recognition abroad and neglect at home 10:00 - Surviving life on the road and in the spotlight 11:16 - Resistance through gender defiance, travel, and reinvention 14:56 - Valaida's death, then the story rewinds to the beginning 17:23 - Chattanooga and slavery as living memory 20:59 - The handcuff act and childhood fame 25:23 - Learning ten instruments without music school 29:01 - Why the trumpet became her instrument of refusal 33:24 - Child marriage, abuse, and choosing to leave 36:01 - Joining Holiday in Dixieland and beginning a career on her own terms 38:38 - Harlem, Broadway, and the rise of Valaida Snow 41:31 - Josephine Baker, Banville, and Black stardom 44:35 - Europe as an imperfect refuge 46:22 - Touring Shanghai, Singapore, Calcutta, and Batavia 50:02 - Chicago jazz, Louis Armstrong, and the Sunset Cafe 52:03 - The seven-pairs-of-shoes act and its global symbolism 55:11 - Louis Armstrong’s influence and the double standard of being called a mimic 58:58 - Conducting Rhapsody in Black and being left out of the credits 60:39 - Copenhagen, wartime detention, and conflicting accounts 64:20 - Love, scandal, and film work in Europe 67:14 - Returning to Harlem and rebuilding her career 68:12 - Wrigley Field, Town Hall, and late-career recognition 69:35 - Her final performance at the Palace Theatre and burial in Chattanooga 73:19 - Valaida’s closing message: embrace everything in you and do it all Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448293/fa...) Welcome  to Women and Resistance, a powerful podcast where we honour the courage, resilience, and revolutionary spirit of women across the globe. Hosted by Aya Fubara Eneli Esq and Adesoji Iginla... You're listening to Women and Resistance with Aya Fubara Eneli Esq and Adesoji Iginla—where we honour the voices of women who have shaped history through courage and defiance...Now, back to the conversation. That’s it for this episode of Women and Resistance. Thank you for joining us in amplifying the voices of women who challenge injustice and change the course of history. Be sure to subscribe, share, and continue the conversation. Together We Honour the past, act in the present, and shape the future. Until next time, stay inspired and stay in resistance!