Henry Zebrowski

But while his dad was black, his mother was Cuban and strangely, incredibly racist.

Sammy's own mother would hurl racist remarks at Sammy from birth, telling him that he looked like a little monkey and not in a cute way.

And his mother never let him forget how dark his skin really was.

Natural entertainer.

Started performing at the age of three.

It's 2026.

People need to go to school.

We know you're not anymore.

You went to elementary school, junior high, and high school.

Yeah.

That's nice.

Well, Sammy Davis Jr.

toured extensively throughout his childhood until he was drafted to fight in World War II in 1943.

But after spending years absorbing cheers and applause from crowds, he was now dealing in the Army with racial slurs and physical violence from white soldiers.

Davis's nose was broken repeatedly.

That's what gave him—you know, he's got that flat bridge—

on his nose, it came from soldiers breaking his nose over and over and over again.

He had a hard time in the army, man.

He was 5'4".

He was a very small guy.