Heritage & Archives Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. North San Diego County Alumnae Chapter

Heritage & Archives
     Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
North San Diego County Alumnae Chapter
                    May 2021

        Taneashia R. Morrell, Esq. - Chair

Cassandra Monique Batie
                                   Also known by her stage name as Andra Day
A tribute to Billie Holiday herself: Andra has been a fan since she was about 11 years old. Andra grabbed her stage name from "Lady
                    Day," which is a nickname Ms. Holiday received from Lester Young, one of her greatest friends.

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Cassandra Monique Batie
                                   Background
• Andra was born on December 30, 1984, in the state of
  Washington. She moved to San Diego in 1987. At the
  tender age of five, she began taking dance lessons.
  She attended Valencia Park Elementary School (near
  61st and Skyline). At age 12, Andra was introduced to
  the sounds of women jazz vocalists such as Billie
  Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington. She
  eventually attended the San Diego School of Creative
  and Performing Arts (after the school moved from
  61st and Skyline to Paradise Hills). She graduated
  from SDSCPA in 2003.
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Cassandra Monique Batie
                              Background

• Andra was generally known for her Youtube
  covers and mashups, such as “Big Papa/Let’s Get
  It on” and “He Can Only Hold Her/
  DooWop.”Most of these videos were filmed in her
  sister's bedroom in San Diego. In 2010, Stevie
  Wonder’s then wife saw Andra performing at a
  mall. Wonder called Andra and introduced her to
  a producer named Adrian Gurvitz. A year later,
  Andra signed a deal with Buskin Records.
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54 th National Convention 2019
        New Orleans
                               Honorary Induction

     Andra Day

     April Ryan

     Sherrilyn Ifill

     Dr. Eleanor Traylor

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2021 The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Initially, Andra Day Refused to Play Ms. Holiday
" To be honest with you, my first reaction was
actually, "Hell no." I really didn't wanna do it.
And it turns out Lee [Daniels] didn't want me to
do it either.” She actually prayed to get out of
playing the role saying "Oh God, please God,
make this go away!" One day while in devotion
she felt the Lord press upon her heart to stop
praying for things to go away, actually “weather
the storm and to do an act of great faith.”

“And I was like, ‘Ah... ‘ And the other thing was
meeting Lee, you know. He had such a need to
tell [Ms. Holiday’s] story authentically, to show
her as a layered human being. 'Cause it wasn't
until he was, you know, this age that he
understood who Billie was, in that that she was a
fighter and that her legacy was intentionally
suppressed.”
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“The song ‘Strange Fruit’ was written by a man
named Abel Meeropol in the 1930s — but it will
forever be associated with Billie Holiday. The
lyrics vividly describe a lynching, and this
haunting protest song is central to the new movie
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday. The Grammy-
nominated singer Andra Day plays the title
character. The role is Day's acting debut, but she
has already won a Golden Globe for her
performance.”

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Year
2014
2015
       Event
       Sundance Film Festival
       BET Awards, Special Olympics, Essence Music Fstvl,
                                                            Career
       Jimmy Kimmel Live!, GMA, White House (Rise Up)
2016   58th Grammy Awards, DNC (Philadelphia)
2017   Cars 3 Sweet Tea Voice
2018   90th Academy Awards, DC March for our Lives Rally
2021   Golden Globe Awards

Year   Event
2015   Mississippi Goddam Cheers to the Fall Studio Album
2016   Rise Up nominated for 58th Grammy Best R&B
       Performance
2017   Stand Up for Something Marshall Film Album

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Awards
Year   Event

2021   Academy Awards: Best Actress The “U.S. vs. Billie Holiday” (pending)

2021   Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday (Won!)

2021   Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: Best Original Song “Tigress & Tweed” (nominated)

2018   Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program – The View “Rise Up” (nominated)

2018   Grammy Award: Best Song Written for Visual Media “Stand Up for Something” (nominated)

2016   Grammy Award: Best R&B Album “Cheers to the Fall” (nominated); “Rise Up” (nominated)

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Andra Day

    10

References

 NY Times
 Essence Magazine
 Wiki
 Google
 Pintrest
 NPR
 https://www.biography.com/news/billie-holiday-strange-fruit

The End
Thank You
Taneashia R. Morrell, Esq. - Chair