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Hattie McDaniel made home in Colorado before becoming first Black person to be nominated and win Academy Award

Hattie McDaniel made history as the first Black person to be nominated, win Academy Award
Hattie McDaniel made history as the first Black person to be nominated, win Academy Award 03:31

Hattie McDaniel was an African-American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. Before she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, she made her home in Colorado.

Hattie McDaniel
American actress Hattie McDaniel (1895 - 1952), at a CBS microphone, circa 1945. McDaniel won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in 'Gone With The Wind', making her the first African-American to win an Academy Award. / Getty Images

McDaniel was the first Black person to be nominated and then win an Oscar. McDaniel lived in Denver and Fort Collins where her legend lives on at the historic Armstrong Hotel in the heart of Old Town Fort Collins. 

"Everywhere she traveled... she has made some kind of a mark," said Kevin John Goff, McDaniel's great-grandnephew. "I'm finding out a plethora of things about her that still boggle my mind."

McDaniel traveled with her large family to Colorado where early photos show that she was one of only a handful of Black children in her community.

"Hattie was the youngest of 13 siblings," said Goff. "That was a decision made by their father, Henry. Because he was trying to find a better life and make a better living for the family."

As she grew up, it wasn't her skin color that made her stand out, it was her talent. 

"Denver and Fort Collins were like a training ground for entertainment," said Goff. 

While researching McDaniel for a book he's writing about her, Goff said he quickly learned she was not only a radio personality, but a performer of all sorts- from acting to drums. 

"In the early 1930s, she went to Hollywood, and the rest is history."

She continued to thrive on the West Coast with a show on CBS.

"She worked as a domestic, so those roles she played on TV she actually knew those in real life. She did that work," said Goff. "If you look at Hattie's roles, even though she is paying domestics, if you look at her lines and delivery she doesn't deliver them in a subservient way. She is confrontational, she is giving her energy as an equal. I think that is what made her stand out."

Hattie Mcdaniels With Academy Award
Los Angeles, CA 3/2/1940: Actress Hattie McDaniel is shown with the statuette she received for her portrayal in "Gone With The Wind." The award was for Best Supporting Role by an Actress, and was made at the 12th annual Academy Awards ceremony.  Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

In the late 1930s, everything changed for McDaniel. 

"Finally the opportunity with Gone with the Wind came, and that was a game changer," said Goff. "Every actor or actress, it didn't matter what color you were, wanted to be in that film."

She landed the role of Mammy in the blockbuster film. 

"She had something in her spirit that jumped off the screen," said Goff. 

But it was a film where she couldn't even attend the premiere, "This was the Jim Crow era. So, she couldn't go to the premiere in Atlanta."

Still, McDaniels broke barriers when she became the first Black person to be invited to the Academy Awards as a guest and then continued to make history, "First Black nominee and first winner."

Decades later, her family and the Fort Collins community continue to recognize her place in history, not just at the Armstrong Hotel but also outside her childhood home, where a plaque reminds people of her story. 

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Goff said McDaniel overcame racism before and after stardom.

"Even in your most challenging moments, keep your integrity and don't give up. That spells her to a 'T'," said Goff. "She is Black history, she is American history."

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