Fredi Washington’s porcelain skin and peridot green eyes bought her a level of privilege that was unheard of for black people in the 1920s and 30s.

What was even more unheard of was that she didn’t want it.

Back then, when black actors got mainstream film roles, they were typically small parts as some form of help – maids, teachers, and of course, slaves. Otherwise, their filmographies were exclusively “race films,” segregated movies with all-black casts made for black audiences, and for the first few jobs, this was Fredi’s experience too.

Until 1934, when she landed what’s arguably one of the most pivotal roles performed by a black actress in the history of cinema.

“Imitation of Life,” based on a 1933 book, told the story of an enterprising duo of single mothers, a white widow and black maid, raising their daughters together in the same home. But there was a twist. The black daughter, Peola, had skin light enough to “pass” as a white woman instead. The movie explored the dynamic of white and black women’s friendships and their ingenuity in finding empowerment in a sexist society, but even more impactfully, the ongoing mental, emotional and familial effects of slavery, racial segregation laws and deeply ingrained social stigmas faced by black women in particular. For its groundbreaking work, the movie earned three 1935 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

Having tasted success, Fredi used her platform and privilege to empower others, establishing the Negro Actors Guild in 1937 to provide black actors with more mainstream opportunities and non-stereotypical roles in film. But due in large part to her critically acclaimed performance in “Imitation of Life,” Fredi found herself fighting a typecasting battle of her own. Her crossover success had inspired other filmmakers to explore “passing,” and of course, they all wanted to cast the most recognized name in the business as a black woman capitalizing on her white skin.

But they had gotten Fredi all wrong. As far as she was concerned, she was a black actress portraying black experiences on-screen. It had never been her intention to pass. “You don’t have to be white to be good. No matter how white I look, on the inside I feel black,” she insisted.

And that conviction was truly tested. She was too talented and pretty to be cast in a subservient background role in mainstream white films, but film production codes in Hollywood at the time strictly forbid interracial relationships, so the outspokenly black actress couldn’t be cast as a romantic female lead either. Conversely, her light skin made her a costly distraction in race films. When she attempted radio instead, she found few dramatic roles for black talent, and even fewer with black female protagonists. Because of her stance against being someone she was not, Fredi never again found the level of fame that “Imitation of Life” gained her.

Naturally, journalists were curious why she didn’t follow the example of other actresses at the time like Rita Hayworth (who was actually a passing Spanish-American) and simply pass as a white actress to find the success she so rightfully deserved. She offered without hesitation: “You see I’m a mighty proud gal, and I can’t for the life of me find any valid reason why anyone should lie about their origin, or anything else for that matter. Frankly, I do not ascribe to the stupid theory of white supremacy and hiding the fact that I am a Negro for economic or any other reasons. If I do, I would be agreeing that to be a Negro makes me inferior and that I have swallowed whole hog all of the propaganda dished out by our fascist-minded white citizens.”

Retiring from show business in the 40s, she quickly offered her insider knowledge to assist the NAACP in fighting racism and exclusion in Hollywood, and continued to work toward equality for black creators until her death in 1994. Although Fredi won very few honors herself, her role as a leading black woman in a Hollywood-produced film opened doors to equally iconic black mainstream roles for some of the world’s most influential black thespians like Sidney Poitier and Louis Gossett, Jr., among others.

Fredi struggled to fit in as a light-skinned black creative in her era, but her work has found its way among the most treasured American films of all time. “Imitation of Life” was added to the preserved collection in the United States National Film Registry at The Library of Congress in 2005, and in 2007, TIME Magazine recognized it as one of “The 25 Most Important Films on Race,” solidifying Fredi’s place in history right where she would have wanted it – beloved for being undeniably black.

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