Reclaiming Venus: The Many Lives of Alvenia Bridges chronicles the remarkable journey of Alvenia Bridges from segregated Kansas to the heights of fashion and rock 'n' roll, breaking barriers and rubbing shoulders with legends. It is a powerful testament to resilience and the pursuit of dreams against all odds. Growing up in the 1950s in segregated Kansas, Alvenia Bridges dreamed of leaving home and seeing the world. Despite her destructive home life and the racially oppressive environment of her childhood, Alvenia graduated high school, left for L.A., and successfully navigated the predominantly white and male-run worlds of fashion and 70s and 80s Rock and Roll. From a chance encounter with race car driver John Von Neumann that jump-started her modeling career in Europe to her years working for famous musicians, Alvenia's unflappable resolve left her impressively mobile in the face of societal constraints. Alvenia had much to share with the world as she crossed paths and worked with a wide variety of people in the music and fashion industries, from long-term working relationships with Bill Graham, Roberta Flack, and the Rolling Stones, to momentary yet extraordinary encounters with Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Prince, and Tina Turner, to personal and professional interactions with Jerry Hall, Antonio Lopez, and Francesco Scavullo. Alvenia's remarkable life forged a path through glass ceilings and blocked doors that reads like a work of fiction. Alvenia Bridges is an American author with a life story full of intrigue, serendipity, courage, and resolve. From humble beginnings in Kansas, she managed to travel the world and make a name for herself by supporting some of the biggest figures in the music industry such as Roberta Flack, Mick Jagger, and Bill Graham. She currently lives in New York City. Reclaiming Venus is her first memoir. Maya Angela Smith is an American author who writes about language, race, migration, music, and identity. Her first book, Senegal Abroad, won the Modern Language Association’s French and Francophone Studies Award. She lives in Seattle where she is an Associate Professor in the French and Italian Studies department at the University of Washington. She is also a visual artist who has shown her work in Paris, New York, Houston, the Bay Area, and Seattle. Reclaiming Venus is her first memoir. Prologue I entered the black, metal-framed double doors of the building at the corner of 58th Street and 7th Avenue. Stepping over the threshold provided some relief from the muggy, New York summer air and the bustling of clueless tourists that were descending on the city. I had no luggage with me other than a backpack because my suitcase never made it on the plane. A baggage handler’s strike at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris ensured that I would be without my possessions for at least a week, leaving me even grumpier than usual after a transatlantic flight. I approached the doorman and stated my business—trying to sound official since I had never really interacted with doormen before. They were characters in movies set in upper-class New York City. I never expected that I would be living in a building that required them. Florian, the doorman in question, greeted me with a smile. “Miss Alvenia has been expecting you. The elevator is over there. You may proceed to the eighth floor.” Over a decade earlier, I had once called New York City home. As a college student on scholarship, the only apartments I had ever lived in were five-story walkups. Somehow, I had found a room in this fancy building and yet I was paying a fraction of what I did in the early 2000s. Alvenia described the space that I would be subletting from her as an adorable little room with an ensuite bath. For $800 a month and only a block from Central Park, I was pretty sure I would be sleeping on a mat next to the toilet and using the sink to shield my face from falling paint chips. Finding a room like the one she described in that prime a location for that low a price seemed too good to be true. As I knocked, the door swung open. She must have been informed of my arrival because she was waiting for me with a huge grin. As I entered what would be my home for the next three months, I was immediately struck by how regal this woman was. She was statuesque—her six-foot frame towered over me even though her back was slightly bowed. She wore a simple strand of pearls around her neck, accentuated by the smooth mahogany of her skin and the blackness of her flowing outfit. Her eyes, meanwhile, conveyed the accumulation of wisdom that comes from a lifetime of experiences. If the goddess Venus walked the earth, this is how I imagine she would look. As I studied her face, Alvenia’s warm voice resonated in the hallway, “You must be Maya. Please, come in. Welcome to your new home.” She gave me a tour of the apartment, starting with the kitchen and breakfast nook, then my room, which was adjacent to the kitchen, followed