She popularized the concept: I'm black and I'm beautiful... in the early 70's. She was one of those entertainers from the 60's who was huge in Europe and didn't really return to America that much.
Yeah, I read her Wiki page. She was apparently pretty quick on the "racist" trigger, but back in the 50s and 60s, she probably had more reason to bitch about it than the cretins from today.
Lots of musicians fled the U.S. back then. Most of 'em were jazzers - Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Cat Anderson (also settled in France), Dexter Gordon (though he later returned).