His father, Cassius, Senior, was a sign painter, while his mother, Odessa, worked as a maid for wealthy white folks in Louisville.

他的父亲老凯瑟斯是个画广告牌的，他的母亲敖德萨是路易斯维尔一个富有白人家庭的女佣。

At around this time, she began dating Morris Meyerson, a twenty-one-year-old sign painter and socialist activist who sparked her interest in music and poetry.

大约在这个时候， 她开始与莫里斯·梅尔森约会，莫里斯·梅尔森是一位二十一岁的标志画家和社会主义活动家， 激发了她对音乐和诗歌的兴趣。