Chadwick Boseman’s final film tells story of a Columbus icon. ‘We have a legend here.’
Many folks will watch “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” when it debuts Dec. 18 on Netflix because they want to see the final film featuring meteoric Chadwick Boseman, who died this year from colon cancer at 43.
Or maybe to see in the title role Viola Davis, the first Black woman to win the Triple Crown of acting awards, in another critically acclaimed performance.
Or maybe to see how the film, based on August Wilson’s play, is co-produced by another superstar actor, Denzel Washington.
Regardless, Ma Rainey House & Museum of the Blues director Florene Dawkins hopes they all gain a greater appreciation of the Columbus native known as the “Mother of the Blues.”
“Because of Ma Rainey, her perseverance and her unapologetically bold businesswoman and how she lived her life, we have the opportunities for Viola Davis, Denzel Washington and Chadwick Boseman,” she said.
Rainey (1886-1939), born Gertrude Pridgett, is credited with nearly 100 recordings on the Paramount label.
The museum is housed in the family home, 805 Fifth Ave., in downtown Columbus, a few blocks from the Springer Opera House, where she made her performing debut at age 14.
Four years later, she met William “Pa” Rainey, the leader of a traveling minstrel show. They married and toured together, billed as “Ma and Pa Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues.”
Ma and Pa separated in 1916. Rainey, known as a bisexual — with some lesbian-related lyrics — toured with her own show until 1923, when Thomas Dorsey became her band director and arranger. They traveled together for two years before he transitioned to gospel music.
“He wrote that after Ma Rainey there was nowhere to go but the Lord,” Dawkins said.
The play and film are named after Ma Rainey’s “Black Bottom,” the song that celebrates the popular dance known by the same name:
“Now, you heard the rest
“Ah boys, I’m gonna show you the best
“Ma Rainey’s gonna show you her black bottom.”
The story is centered around a 1927 recording session in Chicago.
“They’re waiting for everybody to get there for rehearsal, and they’re thinking about the incidents in their lives,” Dawkins said. “You have this horn player Chadwick Boseman plays that wants to conquer the world. He’s on fire. He’s ready to burst out with his music. You have Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) who talks about her exploitations and how she’s been exploited as a musician. So you’ve got the clashes of her exploitation with him wanting to set the world on fire with his music.”
Neither production mentions Columbus, but Dawkins figures the museum still benefits from the renewed interest in Rainey.
“We were real excited here in Columbus about what we could do to promote the house and Ma Rainey as her birthplace,” she said. “We had planned some things, like some outdoor concerts. … But COVID struck, so everything changed.”
Nonetheless, several news outlets, including from London and Washington, have contacted the museum to learn more about Rainey, Dawkins said.
But the woman who was internationally famous almost was forgotten in her hometown. In 1990, Columbus Council was deadlocked about whether to renovate or raze the dilapidated house. Then-Mayor Frank Martin cast the tie-breaking vote that saved the structure, Dawkins said.
“It was in shambles,” she said.
The city bought the property from the family for around $5,000, Dawkins said.
A public-private partnership was formed to develop the museum, now run by the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department and the Friends of Ma Rainey. Money was raised to stabilize and renovate the house, starting in 2005. Approximately $500,000 has been invested in the project, Dawkins said, securing and restoring some original pieces.
“I think it’s amazing how the city of Columbus came together to make it happen, from the mayors we had, the city manager, Historic Columbus, the community,” she said. “People just got on board.”
Rainey was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992. The U.S. Postal Service honored her achievements with a commemorative stamp in 1994.
“We have a legend here who touched so many people in the world,” Dawkins said.
IF YOU GO
What: Ma Rainey House & Blues Museum
Where: 805 Fifth Ave.
When: Mondays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ; Tuesdays-Fridays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission: Free
Note: Restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic limit the number of visitors to appointments only, no more than five people at a time, in the 1,200-square-foot museum on the first floor of the house.
Reservations: 706-641-5933.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
