Emma Azalia Hackley

Emma Azalia Hackley, also known as E. Azalia Hackley and Azalia Smith Hackley (1867–1922), was a concert soprano, newspaper editor, teacher, and political activist. An African American, she promoted racial pride through her support and promotion of music education for African Americans. She was a choir director and organized Folk Songs Festivals in African American churches and schools. Hackley studied music for years, including in Paris under opera singer Jean de Reszke. She was a music teacher who taught Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson, R. Nathaniel Dett and Isabele Taliaferro Spiller. She founded the Vocal Normal Institute in Chicago.

Hackley co-founded both the Imperial Order of Libyans and the Colored Women's League. She was a newspaper editor for the women's section of The Statesman and an author. Hackley published The Colored Girl Beautiful, a manual on becoming an accomplished and refined African American lady.

Early life Born Emma Azalia Smith on June 29, 1867, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, she was the daughter of Henry B. and Corilla (Carrilla) Smith. Her mother, formerly Corilla Beard, lived in Detroit and her father was from Murfreesboro. They moved south after their marriage. The daughter of an escaped slave, Corilla founded a school in Murfreesboro for former enslaved people and their children. (Corilla's father, William Beard, was a former slave who moved to Detroit Michigan, where he established a successful laundry business.) Due to his success, he was able to ensure that his children had a good education. Her father was a blacksmith.

Hackley learned to play the piano at age three and took voice and violin lessons as a child. She received a teaching certificate in 1887 and taught at Clinton Elementary School in Detroit from that year to 1894.

She continued her voice and violin lessons, and she also took French lessons. She sang for the Detroit Musical Society. She paid for her lessons by giving piano lessons. There is no record of the Hackleys having divorced. She was identified as a married woman on her death certificate of 1922; Edwin H. Hackley was identified as her husband.

Career and education Hackley earned her bachelor's degree from the Denver School of Music in 1900. She was the first African American graduate of the school.

Hackley wrote newspaper and magazine articles and short books. She gave lectures at churches, colleges, and schools throughout the United States and Canada. Hackley raised funds by holding benefit concerts, which was used to provide foreign scholarships for African American classical musicians. In 1916, Hackley published The Colored Girl Beautiful, a "how to" on becoming a refined African American lady. She defined beauty, duty, and career and leadership opportunities for black women.

Death Hackley collapsed on stage while performing in San Diego in 1921 and was brought back to Detroit. She is buried at the Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

In popular culture

A portrait of Hackley, painted by Detroit artist Telitha Cumi Bowens, was included in the 1988/89 exhibit Ain't I A Woman at the Museum of African American History, Detroit. The exhibit featured a dozen prominent Black women from the state of Michigan, including the Honorable Cora M. Brown, Ethelene Jones Crockett, M.D., and teacher Fannie M. Richards.