User:Eliza7784/sandbox

Editing Ma Rainey for the edit-athon.

Ma Rainey

What exactly do I dislike about the wiki?

The intro section of the wiki page has some choppy sentences that I feel need to be revisited. Specifically, "Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett, 1882 or 1886 – December 22, 1939) was one of the early African-American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of blues singers to record." Considering it is the first sentence for the page I feel it should read better than it does.

Possible changes-

"Gertrude Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett, 1882 or 1886 - December 22, 1939) was one of the early African-American professional blue singers that also got their work recorded."

Section- Early Life:

I feel this section should have more content in it/fleshed out more. Is there more information about her relationship with the church? It's mentioned once or twice in other sections that she was apart of it and it was where she seemed to use her musical talent before going professional.

"She had at least two brothers and a sister, Malissa Pridgett Nix, with whom Gertrude was later confused by some writers." Is this saying that people got Malissa and Gertrude mixed up? What exactly is being said in this sentence to be included and be important for this page. Upon further research I suggest removing the sentence from the wiki page.

Section- Personal Life and Death:

This section is also extremely sparse. It mentions Ma taking over theaters until her death after she retired from professional music. Could add some information about that. Conclusion: She was a proprietor for theaters which gives some insight, meaning she literally owned them.

Section- Legacy and Honors:

There is no mention of the museum that was founded in 2007 in the house she grew up in. I think this would be a good place to include at least a sentence about.

There was a museum opened in Columbus in 2007 to honor Ma Rainey's legacy. It is in the very house that she had built for her mother and later lived in until her death in 1935.

What does the talk page say about this?

There is a lot of discussion back and forth on whether Ma Rainey was part of the LGBTQ+ community. I feel it is not my place to say "yay or nay" on the subject since it is under immense controversy between historians who make it their life to research these things. It also seems to be a slight back and forth with a lot of emotion about it in the talk page which perhaps means it best to steer clear of.

Another thing that is discussed is an unclear sentence that opens up the section "Recording Career" which I think just needs more elaboration on. It says there was an increase demand for black artists to be recorded in 1910 and that in 1920 Mamie Smith was the first black woman to be recorded. I think that the clarity could be achieved by laying a little heavier on the fact that it wasn't until 1920 that women were starting to be recorded but there were men already having their music recorded 10 years prior.

SOURCES IM GOING TO USE- If I need to research anymore I will add the sources as I go here.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ma-Rainey

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/obituaries/ma-rainey-overlooked.html

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/15/ma-rainey-black-bottom-netflix-mother-of-the-blues