 Ramba uchinyora ndima iyi - Akaberekerwa muHaverstraw, New York, kune vakaroorana Marion Lloyd Jenkins naJulia Jenkins. Pashure pokuparara kwemusika wemari waOctober 1929, vabereki vake vakanga vatamira kuchamhembe vachitsvaka basa, kubva kuSouth Carolina, uko baba vake vakanga vari mupendi uye muvaki uye amai vake vakashanda semushandi wemumba. Meriwether akakurira muHarlem munguva yeGreat Depression, mwanasikana bedzi uye wechitatu pavana vashanu. 