Aida Overton Walker & Sweet Petunias

The cover of the album, Sweet Petunias (Figure 1), Volume 4 of Rosetta Reitz’s Independent Women’s Blues series, collages an un-credited photograph of performer Aida Overton Walker and an illustration of petunias by Erika Weihs. Wearing a Victorian dress covered with lace accents, Walker sits gracefully in a chair with her upper body facing the audience, one arm resting on the chair handle and the other on her lap. Extending horizontally behind her are Weihs’ branches of sweet petunias, including flower buds not yet blossomed, all vividly blooming in various colors, sizes, and directions. To the lower left of the image of Walker is a list of the 16 artists featured on this album, all but one Black, and on the other side are their accompanists. Reitz amicably referred to the featured artists as “these petunias” in her liner notes, explaining that the flower petunia symbolizes these artists by its floriography of “never despair of me”.^[1]

For Reitz, these artists did not give up faith in pursuing their music career nor conform to traditions of women’s blues singing merely about heartbreaking romantic relationships with men; instead, they stood up and sang about their own empowerment and feelings despite social norms and obstacles. For instance, “Living My Life My Way” by Helen Humes emphasizes living one’s life as one wishes, urging for the liberty of deciding one’s life and not being restricted by others. Moreover, petunia is the referent of sex in the blues industry.^[2] Petunias also carry sexual connotations, and pieces of music in Sweet Petunias discuss sex straightforwardly; specifically, Mae West’s “My Man Friday” is the story of being with a different man each day of the week.^[3] Incorporating such music corresponds to the advocation of sexual liberation in second-wave feminism, confronting the stigmatized women’s sexual desire and agency and calling for sexual equality.

Reitz further explained that these artists deserved to bloom in bigger gardens yet were restricted by their time; therefore, this thriving garden of the Sweet Petunias album could be her way of giving these artists the big stage they deserved.^[4] The growing flower buds stood in as a symbol of Black female artists’ underestimated and undiscovered talent and potential, while the different colors, sizes, and directions of blossoming petunias pointed to the artists’ individuality, as well as their diverse abilities and interests.

Because there is little information on Reitz’s motivations behind this album cover, her sentiments could only be inferred from her notes, actions, and other contextual archival materials. Yet from her tribute to Walker and her dedication to constructing albums for Black female self-empowering artists, it is evident that she wanted to celebrate Black female artists in pushing the boundaries of traditional women’s blues and stage performance, hoping for their talents to be acknowledged and appreciated, and advocating for society to provide them with a larger stage. 

AIda Overton Walker‘s Legacy

Moreover, Reitz explained that she used Walker as the cover figure to pay homage to this renowned Black female performer and choreographer. Although Walker’s works were not featured in this album, her attitude toward challenging Black stereotypes in artistic creation was reflected by the featured musicians. Additionally, her efforts in advocating for Black females’ rights to be on stage and in creating a positive stage presence resemble Reitz’s for producing this album and beyond.

In the early 1900s, Black elites called for Black women to pursue respectable careers, such as teaching, in order to achieve racial empowerment.^[5] Stage performance, on the contrary, was considered a not-respectable profession that reinforced stereotypes of Black people.^[6] Walker broke this prevailing thought and supported Black women in pursuing stage careers, encouraging them to use it as a medium of self and cultural expression.^[7] This aligned with the featured musicians’ music, using music as a form of their own empowerment and confronting stereotypical female blues portrayal of moaning for ex-lovers.^[8]

Furthermore, Walker was the creative director, principal choreographer, and leading actress in the Williams and Walker company, which was the first all-Black company on Broadway.^[9] Their shows portrayed African American culture by creating non-stereotypical Black roles that referenced African American ancestral and cultural history,^[10] countering the portrayals prominent in other shows where White actors and producers depicted Black people and culture as merely comical.^[11] The addition of these Black perspectives by the Williams and Walker Company created new possibilities for performance by and about Black people, challenging the depictions that prevailed in the traditional, White-dominated theatre industry,

Origins of the Photo

Similar photographs of Walker suggest that this is a theatrical image taken by the White Studio in New York. Her luxurious Victorian dress with lace accents and her delicate hairstyle resemble her theatrical costumes and hairstyles. Additionally, the photographer’s signature (Figure 2), which was cut out on this cover, is similar to other identified signatures of the White Studio (Figure 3). White Studio was Broadway’s most prominent photo studio in the early twentieth century and had photographed Walker throughout the years.^[12] Drawing from the studio’s history, it can be inferred that this image was taken between 1903 (the studio’s establishment) and 1914 (when Walker passed away) by White Studio’s chief photographer George Lucas.^[13]

By juxtaposing Walker with a petunia garden on this cover, Reitz could have been signifying the state of Black female performers being on stage, acknowledging their efforts in stage creations and performance, and encouraging them to further push through gender and racial barriers. Performance is an influential medium as it directly constructs and reinforces audience knowledge of Black culture. In musical theater performances, the characters are the imagined Black identities that reflect Black culture and history. In music performances, the lyrics and songs are crucial in presenting Black musicians’ perspectives.

As digitized performance was not yet available in the twentieth century, live performances were the most accessible medium of entertainment for the audiences to understand and reflect on Black experiences. In addition, at a time when social spaces were restricted by color, Black performances provided a venue for Black audiences to enjoy themselves and participate in social life.^[14] Both Walker’s and the featured artists’ performances have greatly contributed to presenting non-stereotypical Black culture and to creating a social space for Black audiences, which had significant impacts on forming and understanding Black cultures.

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End Notes

[1] Rosetta Reitz, Sweet Petunias liner notes, Box 4, Rosetta Reitz papers, 1929-2008, Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

[2] Reitz.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Veronica Jackson, “Restructuring Respectability, Gender, and Power: Aida Overton Walker Performs a Black Feminist Resistance,” Journal of Transnational American Studies 10, no. 1 (2019), 263, https://doi.org/10.5070/t8101044150.

[6] Jackson, “Reconstructing Respectability,” 263-264.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Reitz.

[9] Daphne Brooks, Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910 (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006), 212.

[10] Brooks, Bodies in Dissent, 222-223.

[11] Ibid.

[12]  “White Studios.” Studios, White | Broadway Photographs. University of Southern California,  n.d. https://broadway.library.sc.edu/content/studios-white.html.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Brooks, Bodies in Dissent, 220.

Bibliography

Brooks, Daphne. Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.

Jackson, Veronica. “Restructuring Respectability, Gender, and Power: Aida Overton Walker Performs a Black Feminist Resistance.” Journal of Transnational American Studies 10, no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.5070/t8101044150.

Reitz, Rosetta. Sweet Petunias liner notes. Box 4, Rosetta Reitz papers, 1929-2008. Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

 “White Studios.” Studios, White | Broadway Photographs. University of Southern California,  n.d. https://broadway.library.sc.edu/content/studios-white.html.