Findings
| When | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Simone's daughter, Lisa Simone, has described her mother as physically and emotionally abusive during her childhood. Lisa said Nina would beat her, bully and belittle her, and that the abuse became severe enough that she feared for her life and eventually left to live with her father. In a 2023 interview, Lisa described Nina becoming violent toward her and said she had spent years learning how to establish boundaries with her mother. | Source | |
| 1985, 1995 | Simone had several documented or strongly attested violent incidents as an adult. She shot at a record-company executive in 1985, saying she intended to kill him because she believed he had stolen royalties. In 1995, she shot and wounded a neighbor's teenage son with an air gun because his laughter was disturbing her piano practice. | Source |
| Simone became one of the most important musical voices of the US Civil Rights Movement. She performed benefit concerts for civil-rights organizations and wrote songs directly confronting racism. Her broader activism also challenged the treatment of Black Americans in ways that intersected with gender and racial inequality. | Source |
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