Celebrating 31 Women of Color — Those You Know — and Those You Should — Women’s History Month and the Arts
In March, here in the United States and in many other countries, we take time to explore and celebrate the contributions of women to our society. Extending last month’s sharing, I have chosen to look through the lens of women of color in the arts for my learning journey during Women’s History Month. I hope that these highlights, celebrations and stories lead to deeper exploration and understanding of the place of these and many, many other women have had in history, and maybe shed light on something new and intriguing that ignites you to something new! I strongly encourage you to click the links for each of the 31 women — and allow yourself to explore each person more deeply than just the quick statement.
Vinnette Carroll
Vinnette Carroll was the first African American woman to direct on Broadway. Between 1956 and 1982, Carroll had 10 Broadway credits, four as a performer and six as a writer and/or director. One of her musicals Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, an adaptation of the Gospel According to St. Matthew, appeared on Broadway three different times in the span of six years.
Diahann Carroll
Dihann Carroll was the first black woman to win the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for No Strings. Her Tony win would be one of multiple doors she would break down in her career. She made her Broadway debut in House of Flowers in 1959 and in the film versions of Carmen Jones and Porgy & Bess. In 1995, she returned to musicals by starring the original Canadian cast of Sunset Boulevard.
Micki Grant
Micki Grant, is a three-time Tony nominee and one of the few women composers to have had her work done on Broadway. Grant collaborated with Vinette Carroll on the musical revue Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, which landed on Broadway in 1972, and on Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, which first came to Broadway in 1976.
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga burst onto the scene as Kim in Miss Saigon for which accomplished the rare feat of winning the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards. After Miss Saigon she would go onto become arguably the greatest to play the role of Eponine in Les Miserables on Broadway. As the singing voice of Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin, to say that her recording of “A Whole New World” had an impact on many a future performers might be an understatement.
Frida Kahlo
Born in Mexico in 1907, Frida Kahlo became a vibrant force in art and political circles, a symbol of empowerment for women and for the disabled. The influence of traditional Latino culture on her work has led to her recognition as a figurehead for its revival.
Uzo Aduba
Best known for her portrayal of Crazy Eyes on Orange is the New Black Uzo Aduba originally thought she wanted to be a lawyer, but like many her high school drama teacher opened her eyes to other potentials.
Debbie Allen
Before there was Glee there was Fame. And Fame was Debbie Allen. More than that, Allen is has been a central figure in choreography since the 1980’s. She had her Broadway debut in the chorus of Purlie. Allen also created the role of Beneatha in the Tony Award-winning musical Raisin. She first began receiving critical attention in 1980 for her appearance in the role of Anita in the Broadway revival of West Side Story which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award, she would receive a second Tony Award nomination in 1986 for her performance in the title role in Sweet Charity.
Chita Rivera
The best triple threats of our time, Rivera could do no wrong, she still can’t do wrong. Whether it was originating some of the greatest roles in musical history from Anita in West Side Story to Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie to Velma Kelly in Chicago.
Audra McDonald
No doubt about Audra Ann McDonald, one of the first ladies of the American Theatre. From her inimitable Carrie in the recent Carousel revival to her Bess in Porgy and Bess she is a force to be reckoned with.
Lynn Nottage
Twice a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter, Lynn Nottage’s plays have been produced throughout the world. She remains the only woman to have won two Pulitzers.
Lorraine Hansbury
Lorraine Hansbury became the first black woman to have her play, A Raisin in the Sun, produced on Broadway in 1959.
Bessie Smith
At the height of her fame, blues singer Bessie Smith was really known as “the Empress.” Smith was one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and early 1930s with hits such as “Downhearted Blues” and “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home.”
Lupita Nyong’o
The multi-talented Lupita Nyong’o feels like no other performer of her generation. Able to pivot from Oscar-winning historical dramas to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to horror films to broad comedies, the acting range of Lupita Nyong’o is arguably unmatched in her field right now.
Maria Manuela Goyanes
Maria Manuela Goyanes is a first-generation Latina theatre maker, chiefly known for her work at The Public Theatre in New York City, as well as her September 2018 appointment as the artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C.
Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold is a painter, writer, speaker, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist who hails from New York City. She has won over 75 awards, as well as fellowships and grants, like the National Endowment For the Arts Award for sculpture and The New York Foundation For the Arts Award for painting.
Lisa Dawn Cave
A graduate of the Dance program at SUNY Purchase, Lisa Dawn has stage managed some of the biggest shows on Broadway, and now leads worldwide production for Disney’s Frozen at Disney Theatrical.
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald began her career at the Apollo Theater in 1934, where she was discovered for her beautiful, soulful voice. She has become known in history as the “First Lady of Song,” and was the first African-American woman to win a Grammy Award.
Stephanie Ybarra
Stephanie Ybarra is one of the rising stars of the American nonprofit theatre, a leader and a producer who is equally grounded in artistic excellence and a passion for social justice,” said Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis on the naming of Stephanie to be Artistic Director for Baltimore’s Center Stage.
Irene Gandy
A press agent knows about everything to do with a production — it’s their job to know the secrets. So it’s no surprise the press agent Irene Gandy took that know-how and stepped into producing.
Toni Cade Bambara
Toni Cade Bambara was an editor, teacher, and writer who received her B.A. in theater arts and English from Queens College. While she worked towards her Master’s degree in modern American fiction at New York City College, she was a social worker, occupational therapist, and worked on several projects in her community. She worked at City College in 1965 with several student publications and also directed the Theater of the Black Experience.
Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is The New Black, became the first transgender actress to play a transgender network-TV series regular on CBS’ Doubt. “I think that talking about diversity, talking about race, talking about gender is important,” she said.
Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay was the first black woman nominated for a Golden Globe for best director for her movie Selma. Her documentary 13th was nominated for an Oscar this year. She’s also the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with a budget exceeding $100 million A Wrinkle In Time. Recently she led development of Array, a company focused on diversifying people behind the camera
National Women’s History Museum
Carol Jenkins
Carol Jenkins is an Emmy-award winning TV anchor and journalist. She was a co-host of Positively Black on NBC in New York, one of the first shows dedicated to predominately black issues.
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde was a self-proclaimed black lesbian feminist warrior poet. She wrote 12 poetry collections and five books of prose, including A Burst of Light, which won a National Book Award.
Nataki Garrett
To understand the transformation taking place in the American theater, consider Nataki Garrett who is an African-American woman with a track record of championing new work and recently named the sixth artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian-American writer known for the many novels she has written, including Brother, I’m Dying,The Farming of Bones, The Dew Breaker,Claire of the Sea Light, and Breath, Eyes, Memory.
Danai Gurira
Danai Gurira is an award-winning playwright and actor. Gurira was seen in Marvel’s blockbuster phenomenon “Black Panther” as General Okoye and reprised the role in the film “Avengers: Infinity War”. Both films are among the top highest grossing movies of all time. Gurira currently stars as Michonne on AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
Alia Jones-Harvey
Alia Jones-Harvey is one of the few women of color who is a lead producer on Broadway. Her company Front Row productions began with the revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2008, continued with A Streetcar Named Desire, was involved with The Trip to Bountiful, and most recently with Eclipsed, which was nominated for 6 Tony Awards® including Best Play — three of the four productions featuring all-black casts, the third (Streetcar) primarily people of color.
Nina Simone
Known for her beautiful voice, Simone sang an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, and folk sounds. Her stage name came from the Spanish word “niña,” a cute nickname her boyfriend at the time would use for her, and “Simone” was derived from French actress Simone Signoret’s first name. She became Nina Simone.
Jocelyn Bioh
Jocelyn Bioy is a Ghanaian-American actor and playwright. Some of her more well-known works include Nollywood Dreams and School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. She is a playwright with Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) and Atlantic Theater Company, is a resident playwright at Lincoln Center
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou’s work is often taught in schools around the nation, and one of her most notable works is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was a notable African American author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist.
