Philippa Duke Schuyler (; August 2, 1931 – May 9, 1967) was an American concert
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
, composer,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. A
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
, she was the daughter of black journalist
George Schuyler
George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism.
Early life
George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
and Josephine Schuyler, a white Texan heiress, Schuyler became famous in the 1930s for her talent, intellect,
mixed race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
parentage, and the eccentric parenting methods employed by her mother.
Hailed as "the
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
of American Negroes,"
Schuyler performed public piano recitals and radio broadcasts by the age of four. She performed two recitals at the
New York World's Fair at the age of eight. Schuyler won numerous music competitions such as the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
Young People's Concerts at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
. She became the youngest member of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors at age eleven. Schuyler encountered racism as she grew older, and had trouble coming to terms with her mixed race heritage. She later became a journalist and was killed in a helicopter crash in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
in 1967.
Life and career
Early life
Philippa Duke Schuyler was born in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, New York on August 2, 1931. She was the only child of
George Schuyler
George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism.
Early life
George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
, a prominent black essayist and journalist, and his wife Josephine Schuyler (née Cogdell), a white Texan and one-time
Mack Sennett bathing beauty and the granddaughter of slave owners.
Her parents believed that intermarriage could "invigorate" both races and produce extraordinary offspring. They also advocated that mixed-race marriage could help to solve many of the social problems in the United States.
For three years before Schuyler's birth, her mother ate only natural and raw food, avoided meat, went on a body and mind preparing regime to cleanse her system in preparation to bear a "superior" child.
Mrs. Schuyler further believed that genius could best be developed by a diet consisting exclusively of raw foods. As a result, Philippa grew up in her
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
apartment eating a diet predominantly comprising raw carrots, peas and yams and raw steak. She was given a daily ration of
cod liver oil
Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of cod fish (Gadidae). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vitamin D. Historic ...
and lemon slices in place of sweets. "When we travel," Mrs. Schuyler said, "Philippa and I amaze waiters. You have to argue with most waiters before they will bring you raw meat. I guess it is rather unusual to see a little girl eating a raw steak."
Recognized as a prodigy at an early age, a ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' writer in 1933 wrote about her as the "Negro Baby." Schuyler reportedly knew the alphabet at nineteen months and was able to read and write at the age of two. By four years old she could play
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
and
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
compositions, and she was writing her own compositions.
Her
intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term ''Intelligenzqu ...
(IQ) at the age of six was found to be 185.
Music career
Schuyler's mother was an over-bearing
stage mother who entered her into every possible music competition.
In June 1936, Schuyler won her first gold medal at the age of four at the annual tournament sponsored by the National Guild of Piano Teachers, where she performed ten original compositions. She won eight consecutive prizes from the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
Young People's Concerts at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, then was barred from competing because the other children didn't stand a chance to win against her.
She also won gold medals from the Music Education League and from the City of New York.
Schuyler's piano recitals and radio broadcasts attracted significant press coverage. New York
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
was one of Schuyler's admirers and visited her at home on more than one occasion. He declared June 19, 1940 "Philippa Duke Schuyler Day" at the
New York World's Fair, where she performed two recitals.
At nine, Schuyler became the subject of "Evening With A Gifted Child", a profile written by
Joseph Mitchell
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, correspondent for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', who heard several of her early compositions. He noted that she addressed both her parents by their first names.
Schuyler completed the eighth grade at the age of eleven and by the age of fourteen she had composed 200 musical selections.
She became the youngest member of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors in 1942.
By the time she reached adolescence, Schuyler was touring constantly, both in the United States and overseas. At fifteen, Schuyler graduated from Father Young S. J. Memorial High School, the Schola Cantorum of Pius X School of Liturgical Music. She also performed with the New York Philharmonic at
Lewisohn Stadium
Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973.
History
The Doric-colonnaded amphitheater was built between Amsterdam and Conven ...
.
Schuyler continued her studies at
Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...
. Her talent as a pianist was widely acknowledged, although many critics believed that her forte lay in playing vigorous pieces and criticized her style when tackling more nuanced works. Acclaim for her performances led to her becoming a role model for many children in the United States, but Schuyler's own childhood was blighted when, during her teenage years, her parents showed her the scrapbooks they had compiled recording her life and career. The books contained numerous newspaper clippings in which both George and Josephine Schuyler commented on their beliefs and ambitions for their daughter. Realization that she had been conceived and raised, in a sense, as a genetic experiment, robbed the pianist of many of the illusions that had made her earlier youth a happy one.
In later life, Schuyler grew disillusioned with the racial and gender prejudice she encountered, particularly when performing in the United States, and much of her musical career was spent playing overseas. She fled to Latin America, where people of mixed races were more prevalent. She chose a voluntary exile of traveling and performing in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Europe.
She played at the inauguration of three successive presidents in Haiti. In Africa, she performed for various notables such as
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, at Independence Day celebrations for
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
and
Joseph Kasavubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965.
A member of the Kong ...
of the
Congo, President
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and for
Albert Schweitzer
Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...
in his isolated
leper
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damage ...
colony in
Lamberéné. She began passing for white in 1959, at first so she could travel in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, then again years later thinking she would have a better career if she reentered the American concert scene as a white performer.
Journalism career
As her concert schedule decreased in the early 1960s, Schuyler followed her father
George Schuyler
George Samuel Schuyler (; February 25, 1895 – August 31, 1977) was an American writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism after he had initially supported socialism.
Early life
George Samuel Schuyler was born in ...
into journalism in her thirties. She supplemented her limited income by writing about her travels. She published more than 100 newspaper and magazine articles internationally, and was one of the few black writers for the
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
.
Schuyler published four non-fiction books: ''Adventures in Black and White'' (a biography, 1960); ''Who Killed the Congo?'' (a summary of the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
's fight for independence, 1962); ''Jungle Saints'' (about Catholic missionaries, 1963); and ''Kingdom of Dreams'' (a
quixotic
Quixotic may refer to:
* Quixotism, deriving from the novel ''Don Quixote''
* ''Quixotic'' (album), an album by Martina Topley-Bird
* Quix*o*tic Quix*o*tic was a rock band active from 1997 to 2002 in the area of Washington, D.C., United States. T ...
study of scientific dream interpretation written with her mother, 1966).
Personal life
Schuyler's personal life was frequently unhappy since childhood. Her mother punished her severely with whippings, and she never made friends because she did not attend school regularly. When she did attend school, she was ahead of other children her age, and was usually the only minority.
Schuyler developed an inferiority complex about her race and viewed her blackness as a "stigma". Schuyler rejected many of her parents' values and viewed their interracial marriage as a mistake.
She increasingly became a vocal feminist and made many attempts to pass herself off as a woman of
Ibero-America
Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese are predominant languages (usually form ...
n descent named Felipa Monterro y Schuyler.
Although Schuyler engaged in a number of affairs, she never married. In 1965, she endured a dangerous
late-term abortion
Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to as late-term abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, ''late'' is not precisely defined, and different medical publicati ...
in
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
after an affair with
Ghanaian
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
diplomat Georges Apedo-Amah, because she did not want to have a child with a black man. Schuyler wanted to marry an
Aryan
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
man to boost her career and produce offspring she deemed ideal.
Schuyler and her father were members of the
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas.
T ...
.
In addition to her native English language, she spoke French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.
She was also a devout
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Death
In 1966, Schuyler traveled to
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
to perform for the troops and Vietnamese groups.
She returned in April 1967 as a war correspondent for
William Loeb's ''
Manchester Union Leader
The ''New Hampshire Union Leader'' is a daily newspaper from Manchester, the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. On Sundays, it publishes as the ''New Hampshire Sunday News.''
Founded in 1863, the paper was best known for the conse ...
'' and served as a lay missionary.
On May 9, 1967, Schuyler was killed in a crash of a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
helicopter during a mission in
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
to evacuate Vietnamese orphans. The helicopter crashed into Danang Bay. While she survived the crash impact, her inability to swim caused her to drown. Schuyler had planned to leave Vietnam a few days prior, but she extended her stay to bring
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
children from
Hue
In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called Color appearance model#Color appearance parameters, color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a Stimulus (physiology ...
, where there was tension between Catholic and
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
factions.
2,000 mourners attended her funeral at
St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on May 18, 1967. She was the second of two American women journalists to die in Vietnam.
A
court of inquiry found that the pilot had deliberately cut his motor and descended in an uncontrolled glide – possibly in an attempt to give his civilian passengers an insight into the dangers of flying in a combat zone – eventually losing control of the aircraft.
Schuyler's mother was profoundly affected by her death and committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
a few days before the second anniversary of her death in 1969.
Legacy
Schuyler's parents established the Philippa Schuyler Memorial Foundation in her memory.
Philippa Schuyler Middle School for the Gifted and Talented in
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
, New York is dedicated to preserving the memory of the child prodigy by offering an arts-focused education to New York City children.
It was reported in 2004 that
Halle Berry
Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...
owned the film rights to Schuyler's biography. Berry intended to co-produce the
biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
with
Marc Platt, starring
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
as Schuyler.
Books
*Philippa Duke Schuyler, ''Adventures in Black and White'', with Foreword by
Deems Taylor
Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music."
Ear ...
, (New York: R. Speller, 1960)
*Philippa Duke Schuyler, ''Who Killed the Congo?'', (New York:
Devin-Adair
The Devin-Adair Publishing Company (1911–1981) was an American conservative publishing house.
History
Henry Garrity created the publishing house in 1911 in New York City.
His son Devin Garrity inherited it in 1939.
It moved from New York C ...
, 1962)
*Philippa Duke Schuyler,
Jungle Saints: Africa's Heroic Catholic Missionaries', (Roma:
Verlag Herder
Verlag Herder is a publishing company started by the Herders, a German family. The company focuses primarily on Catholic topics of ecclesiology, Christian mysticism, women's studies, and the development of younger Catholic theologians.
History
...
, 1963)
*Philippa Duke Schuyler and Josephine Schuyler, ''Kingdom of Dreams'', (New York: R. Speller, 1966)
*Philippa Duke Schuyler, ''Good Men Die'', (New York: Twin Circle, 1969)
See also
*
List of journalists killed and missing in the Vietnam War
This article is a partial list of journalists killed and missing during the Vietnam War. The press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders tallied 63 journalists who died over a 20-year period ending in 1975 while covering the Vietnam War ...
References
Sources
*Daniel McNeil, "Black devils, white saints & mixed-race femme fatales: Philippa Schuyler and the soundbites of the sixties", in ''Critical Arts: A Journal of South-North Cultural Studies'', 2011.
*Daniel McNeil, ''Sex and Race in the Black Atlantic'' (New York,
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, 2009)
*Joseph Mitchell, "Evening With a Gifted Child", in ''McSorley's Wonderful Saloon'' (New York:
Duell, Sloan and Pearce
Duell, Sloan and Pearce was a publishing company located in New York City. It was founded in 1939 by C. Halliwell Duell, Samuel Sloan and Charles A. Pearce. It initially published general fiction and non-fiction, but not westerns, light romances ...
, 1943)
*Josephine Schuyler, ''Philippa, the Beautiful American: The Traveled History of a Troubadour'', (paperback, n.p., 1969)
*Kathryn Talalay, ''Composition In Black and White: The Tragic Saga of Harlem's Biracial Prodigy'' (New York:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1995)
External links
Philippa Schuyleron
All Music
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Philippa Schuyler Papersat
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Philippa
1931 births
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Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1967
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Vietnam
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American women in the Vietnam War
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Delta Sigma Theta members
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