Real-life Model for 'Princess Tiana' Dies

 

Leah Chase¹, who died this month, was an American civil rights activist² and chef in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Her restaurant is well-known. It serves people from all walks of life, from local men and women to famous personalities³, such as baseball player Hank Aaron and singer Beyoncé. Two other customers, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, served as president of the United States.

But people who never visited the restaurant likely still know Chase, sort of. She was a main inspiration⁴ for Princess Tiana in the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog.”

Leah Lange

Chase’s name at birth was Leah Lange. She was born in 1923 in Louisiana. At that time, many places in the southern states were segregated⁵. In other words, people were divided by race and skin color. In her town, children with light skin went to one school; children with dark skin went to another. The schooling⁶ for children with dark skin stopped after six years.

So her parents sent their daughter to New Orleans, the largest city in the state, to complete her education at a Catholic⁷ high school. A report in The New York Times newspaper says she was a gifted student and finished at age 16.

Soon after, she began working as a waitress at a top restaurant for white people in the city’s historic⁸ French Quarter. There, she became interested in fine dining – high quality food in a beautiful space.

Dooky Chase

In time, Leah Lange married a musician whose family owned a restaurant. He – and the restaurant – were both named after his father, Dooky Chase. Dooky Chase’s at that time was an easygoing shop where black people could buy sandwiches and lottery⁹ tickets.

But Leah Chase had other ideas. She added white tablecloths¹⁰ and Creole food that mixed French, Spanish, African and other traditions.

In time, Dooky Chase’s became the city’s first top restaurant for black visitors and locals. To many, it was a place to celebrate special events: a winning sports team, success in school or a night with someone special, a writer from New Orleans told The New York Times.

It was also a place where civil rights leaders, such as Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Junior, came. They were fighting for equality among people of all races and colors.

Dooky Chase’s became known as a place where activists¹¹ could meet and plan campaigns. The restaurant broke local segregation¹² laws by letting black and white customers sit together.

Chase said simply she did what she thought she had to do.

Tiana

In the early 2000s, a group of writers were seeking ideas for a movie about a princess in New Orleans. They easily found Leah Chase, says a report in The Oprah Magazine.

Chase said she spoke¹³ to the film’s writers for hours about her life. In time, the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog” told the story of a hard-working African-American waitress who dreams of owning a restaurant.

“Now everybody wants to be Tiana,” Chase told the magazine in 2010. “I think it’s fantastic.”

Leah Chase continued to work and serve others well into old age. She published cookbooks and collected paintings by African-American artists. She met with customers and supervised¹⁴ the restaurant’s kitchen. She said food helped people feel better.

In 2015, she told The Associated Press, “… Sometimes people will come in and they’re tired. And just a little plate of food will make people happy.”

Leah Chase died on June 1 at the age of 96. She and her husband of 70 years had 4 children, 16 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.

Earlier this week, Chase’s family released¹⁵ a statement to reporters. They called Chase a supporter of civil liberties and a “believer in the Spirit of New Orleans.”

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

inspiration - n. a force or influence that inspires someone

Quarter - n. a part or area of a city

sandwich - n. two pieces of bread with something (such as meat, peanut butter, etc.) between them

lottery ticket - n. a way of raising money for a government in which many tickets are sold and a few of the tickets are chosen by chance to win prizes

fantastic - adj. extremely good

kitchen - n. a room in which food is cooked

1 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

4 inspiration   

n.灵感，鼓励者，吸气

参考例句：

• These events provided the inspiration for his first novel.这些事件给了他创作第一部小说的灵感。
• What an inspiration she was to all around her!她对于她周围所有的人是一种多么大的鼓舞！

5 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

6 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

7 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

8 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

9 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

10 tablecloths   

n.桌布，台布( tablecloth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）
• At the moment the cause of her concern was a pile of soiled tablecloths. 此刻她关心的事是一堆弄脏了的台布。 来自辞典例句

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

15 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。