Frank Sinatra And His Fight Against Racism

                                                        

Francis Albert Sinatra, (December 12th, 1919, to May 14th, 1998) “Ol’ Blue Eyes”, “The Chairman of the Board”, and the “Sultan of Swoon”, had a legendary career as a singer and movie star. Known for his amazing singing voice and hard-partying lifestyle, Sinatra did things his way. Sinatra was no stranger to controversy. Stories of his infidelity and ties to the Mafia go hand in hand with his artistic success. However, a lot of people were unaware of Frank Sinatra's role in the Civil Rights movement. 

Frank Sinatra's mother, Dolly Sinatra, was a Democratic Party ward leader. She was very active in politics, even at one time chaining herself To the City Hall building in support of the women's suffrage movement. It would later come out that Dolly ran an underground abortion clinic for Catholic girls in trouble. His father ran an illegal saloon where Frank got his first start singing. Sinatra's first introduction to politics came after he was invited to meet Roosevelt in the White House. He agreed to help in the Democratic voting drives. He heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 election. He also donated $7500($127,929.74 today) to the Democratic Party. This was before he was rich.  

According to Joe Carroll Silvers, (former Miss America and friend of Franks) Sinatra “had ardent liberal sympathies and was concerned about the poor that he was always quoting Henry Wallace.” This led to him repeatedly being accused of being a communist. J. Edgar Hoover had a file on him, and he would later get questioned by the House on American Activities Committee. He was outspoken about racism, and he offended a lot of powerful white people in both parties. 

In 1945, Sinatra was invited to Gary, Indiana to help settle a situation where white students were refusing to go to school due to its recent integration. When Sinatra arrived to see a happy teenage crowd, he said, “You should be proud of Gary, but you can't stay proud by pulling this sort of strike” He spoke about being called a dirty Guinea and other slurs and how the striking students were no better. He finished by saying “The eyes of the nation are watching Gary. You have a wonderful war production record. Don't spoil it by pulling a strike. Go back to school kids.” He also compared believing races were inferior to Nazism. 

Although the racial situation did not magically improve, Sinatra impacted many of the students' lives who chose to listen. The mayor of Gary, however, was not happy as he expected a more sympathetic view towards the striking students. While this event surprised a lot of people around the country, those who had performed with Sinatra knew his views for years. 

Frank Sinatra was friends with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and many other black performers. Unlike some white musicians who copied black artists and passed it off as their own, Sinatra sang with black musicians, exposing them to a white audience. If you wanted to listen to Frank, you would get exposed to talented black musicians as well. 

According to the Reverend Jesse Jackson, (a self-described Sinatra fan) “There was always room for everybody at the Chairman's table.” On tours, Sinatra refused to play at clubs unless blacks were allowed to attend. He would not sleep at segregated hotels or eat in segregated restaurants. In one instance, Frank Sinatra, Orson Wells, and his black driver walked into a coffee shop where a waiter refused service to his driver. Frank grabbed the waiter by his collar and told him “You're serving coffee for three today”. All three men got coffee.  

Sinatra’s policy extended to his Jewish friends as well. After learning that the Lakeside Country Club excluded Jewish people, he joined the Hillcrest Country Club instead and told numerous reporters the reason why. When an interviewer asked Sinatra, he said, “Look fellas, religion makes no difference except to a Nazi, or somebody as stupid. Don't let them make suckers out of you.” 

In 1948, Sinatra's documentary on race won an Academy Award. Almost 10 years later, Frank Sinatra explained his views and an edition of Ebony Magazine, saying:  “A friend to me has no race, no class, and belongs to no minority. My friendships are formed out of affection, mutual respect, and a feeling of having something in common. Those are eternal values that cannot be classified.” 

In the late 1940s, Sinatra met one of the most underrated, mega-talented stars ever. His name was Sammy Davis, Jr. Sinatra had gone to see the Will Mastin trio. (Included Sammy, his father and Will Maston) and was blown away. After this show, Frank paid his respects and invited Davis to see his show. After weeks passed and no Sammy, Frank came to Harlem again.  Frank told him he was angry that Davis never showed up and Davis responded. “Frank, I did. They wouldn't let me in.” Frank stormed back to the theater that banned Davis and tore up his contract with them. 

This would become a familiar pattern as Davis and Sinatra became lifelong friends. Clubs and casinos would ban Davis, or make him go through a separate entrance until Frank threatened to quit. In 1954, Davis lost his left eye in a car accident that many people thought would end his career. Sinatra paid his medical bills and had him stay at his Rancho Mirage compound where he recovered. 

Actor Humphrey Bogart had a group in Hollywood called the “Rat Pack” that Sinatra joined when he moved  to the Holmby Hills section of Hollywood. In general, it was a drinking group, and included Bogie, Lauren Bacall, David Niven, Lena Horne, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland and others. After Bogart’s death in 1957, Sinatra would form a new version with fellow Italian singer Dean Martin, English actor and brother-in-law to JFK, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis JR. and Joey Bishop, a Jewish comedian. This group became a major success in movies and live shows. Despite the group's success, Sinatra would continue to have to use his clout. When casinos wouldn't allow Sammy Davis JR. to stay in their hotels. 

A year later Sinatra would meet one of the most important men in music in the last 45 years: Quincy Jones. They also became lifelong friends, and in his 2001 memoir, Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones, he said “Frank was my style. He was hip, straight up, and straight ahead and above all a monster musician.” Sinatra was the one who gave him the Nickname, “Q”. He wrote about their time together saying “Frank led me into a new world. A land of dreams, high living and making the music we both loved.” The two collaborated on one of Sinatra's best albums titled “Might as Well be Swing”. The album produced the Classic “Fly Me To the Moon”. 

The Rat Pack also used their fame and fortune to help Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights movement. On January 27th, 1961, the gang along with other performers including Harry Belafonte, Mahalia Jackson, and Tony Bennett, all got together at New York City's Carnegie Hall and staged an event that raised over $50,000. Throughout the 1950s and 60s. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis contributed in any way they could in terms of speaking and musical performances.  

The Rat Pack would do shows where the members would use racial slurs towards each other,  as a way to poke fun at the stupidity of it. Of course, today they might be canceled, but back then, times were different. This Italian, Jewish, and black group was intent on showing that “we can all laugh together”. 

In the late 1950s, Sinatra became friends with John F Kennedy, who was a senator at the time. In addition to being fellow womanizers, Sinatra believed JFK was the new energy that the country needed. He also believed that being a part of a victorious presidential campaign would give him the regency and respect He always wanted. The Rat Pack actively campaigned for Kennedy and wrote a version of high hopes about him. Behind the scenes, Sinatra used his mafia ties toward Santo Trafficante and Sam Giancana to swing union votes in Chicago and West Virginia toward Kennedy. This would make the final difference in the tight race against Nixon in 1960. 

By 1960, a rift began to develop between Sinatra and the Kennedys. First, Joe Kennedy demanded that Sammy Davis Junior called off his marriage to his white fiancé, May Britt. Joe Kennedy was a disgusting racist hypocrite who threatened to cut ties with Sinatra after learning he would be the best man at their wedding. Then the candidate took Davis off the inaugural invite after he got married. 

At this time, JFK began to distance himself from Sinatra as his mob ties were constantly being written about in the press, at the same time, Bobby Kennedy, who became the attorney general, started to go after the same mobsters that had gotten his brother elected. Sinatra had been used for his mafia connections and then thrown aside when he was no longer needed, at least that's how he saw it. 

The final straw happened in 1962 when President Kennedy asked Sinatra to host him at his Palm Springs estate during the Easter holiday. At the time, Sinatra thought their friendship was back on track. Frank spent thousands of dollars of his own money to make accommodations for Kennedy and his Secret Service staff. After the construction was completed, Kennedy canceled in favor of Republican singer Bing Crosby. 

The decision was likely due to pressure from Bobby as a result of Sinatra’s negative press coverage. An enraged Frank took his sledgehammer to the structure he had built for President Kennedy. He also put his hands on Peter Lawford who had the misfortune of delivering the message. 

Although he was saddened when JFK was assassinated, Sinatra never forgave the Kennedys, including Peter Lawford. Although the other four members would perform together, the Rat Pack had broken up. Sinatra would continue to campaign for civil rights and contribute to Martin Luther King, but his relationship with the Democratic Party was on thin ice. Sinatra and Davis felt a betrayal from the Kennedys that would push them both into the arms of Richard Nixon.  We'll never know the exact reasons why this happened, but it certainly hurt their image among liberals, and rightfully so.  

Despite a surprising turn to the dark side of the force, no one could deny that Sinatra's contributions towards Civil Rights, especially in the entertainment industry where it can still be felt today. Although Frank Sinatra was a deeply flawed individual, in many ways he was on the right side of history. Sinatra put his name and reputation on the line at a time when it was risky to do so. Although he wouldn't be considered liberal by today's standards, he was definitely ahead of his time. 

The same man who befriended gangsters also helped out a lot of good people. Quincy Jones summed it up well in his autobiography, saying: “No one mentions the $500 tips, the vital generosity…of the mortgages and funeral bills paid off for down-and-out performers, or the use of his plane to take a very sick Joe Lewis to his heart specialist in Texas…That's the essence of him”. Frank Sinatra proved that music is timeless and colorblind. He will forever be missed.