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Ethel Waters, one of the world’s most highly acclaimed Christian and secular singers, was born October 31, 1900, in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her mother was 12 years old when she was raped at knife point by a 23-year-old man, who violated her because she was a virgin. Throughout her life Ethel fought hard for her mother’s affections, but never felt she was truly loved because she was a product of the most tragic and frightening event a young girl could ever experience.
Ethel was adopted by her grandmother, Sally Anderson, but because "Mom’s" work required her to live elsewhere, Ethel lived with her older alcoholic aunts and uncles. She was responsible for raising herself in Pennsylvania’s multicultural, red-light district where legal prostitution, gambling, and other vices were accepted as normal. There was little stability in Ethel’s young life - 15 months was the longest her family lived in one place. She became a professional thief and stole food out of necessity. There was never a day in Ethel’s childhood that she was not hungry; cat and dog food were culinary delights.
Ethel’s grandmother, a staunch Catholic, enrolled her (at the age of nine) in a Catholic school in Philadelphia. In an attempt to shield herself from the rejection and hurt she had come to expect, Ethel had built walls of hate between herself and others. In this school she immediately set about to establish her reputation as a menace. But her hatred and defiance were met with love, her badness and meanness with patience.
God finally won over her rebelliousness. Her conversion to Christianity came at the age of 11 during a Methodist revival which was extended three days so Ethel could be saved. In her later years, Ethel became known for her rendition of "His Eye Is On the Sparrow," because, she said, her "precious Jesus always had His eye on this little sparrow."
Even after her conversion, Ethel continued in the secular entertainment field. In the 1920’s, she took the world by storm and received international acclaim for such secular hits as "St. Louis Blues," "Dinah," "Taking A Chance On Love," and "Stormy Weather." She was the first African-American woman to star in a Broadway play.
Regardless of her achievements in life and the fame and fortune that very naturally came her way, it was years before Ethel realized her own self-worth. Because of the outer shell she developed to protect herself, she was never able to let her guard down. Consequently, few people were allowed into her inner circle, and she died in the home of a Christian family who had befriended her. Though loved by many - celebrities and fans - Ethel would sit in her home for days without any public contact outside of her television.
Ethel loved doing Christian concerts and singing at Billy Graham Crusades, where she was a regular from 1957 until her death in 1976.
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