House to Vote on Congressional Gold Medal for Lena Horne

Support for singer's recognition in Congress and Senate

Updated April 25, 2019  – By Matthew Dicker

"....The bill was introduced by Congressman Alcee Hastings, a Democrat from southeastern Florida, whose admiration for Lena Horne began in childhood and has remained throughout his life.

“The very first motion picture that I saw was Stormy Weather. I was in third grade and living in Jersey City, and my mother let me stay out of school to go with her. Another proud moment was to see the final tour of Ms. Horne. She came to Broward County in that final tour. To hear her sing ‘Stormy Weather’ and to know how powerfully she was still able to perform, even at that age, it was really striking. My mother and father simply adored her, so it’s personal in that sense.”