Mildred Davenport

She was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Mary Davenport and Samuel Davenport, a Pullman porter.[1] She attended Boston Girls' High School, graduating in 1918, and then went on to the Sargent School for Physical Culture at Boston University.[2] Afterwards she studied dance with Ted Shawn.[2]

In the 1920s, she opened her first dance school, the Davenport School of Dance, where she taught for a decade.[2] In 1932, she founded her second dance school, the Silver Box Studio, at 522 Columbus Avenue in Boston.[2][3]

In the 1930s, she performed in a number of musicals and revues on Broadway, including Blackbirds and Flying Colors.[2][3] At a time when it was rare for African-American and white performers to appear together on the stage, she danced with performers like Imogene Coca and Clifton Webb.[3][4] In 1938, she danced interpretations of spirituals with the Boston Pops orchestra, becoming the first African-American woman to appear with the Boston Pops.[3] She toured the East Coast for five years in a show entitled Chocolate Review.[3][4]

In World War II, Davenport became one of the first black women to enlist in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, rising from first lieutenant to captain during the war.[1]

After the war, she worked for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination for two decades (1947–1968)[3][4] and served on the board of directors for the Boston branch of the NAACP.[1]

In 1973 Davenport received the Sojourner Truth Award of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Boston and Vicinity Club.[2]

Davenport died in Boston, Massachusetts in 1990.[2]

A collection of her papers, photographs, dance programs, and other ephemera is held by UC Irvine's Special Collections and Archives.[2]

• Guide to the Mildred Davenport papers at UC Irvine