Although they didn’t face many racial challenges that the rest of the country encountered while living in New York, Leslie said she still received hate mail because of their marriage.
“It wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated,” Leslie remarked of her marriage in an interview with PEOPLE. “I believe the reason is that Grahame was not a white American man.” But, of course, we received mail.
“When I go on tour in the United States, I sometimes get anonymous letters about being married to a white man,” Leslie stated. “I recall getting one in Detroit, of all places.” It was addressed to ‘The Little Negro Entertainer’ and arrived at the club. They’re constantly discussed in that manner and are not pleasant to read.”
Grahame took over as Leslie’s manager, and the couple had two daughters, Danielle in 1970 and Justice in 1976.
