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Remembering the Black Arts Movement Symposium: Ntozake Shange

Presented by the Hurston/Wright Foundation in partnership with the PGAHC Office of the Poet Laureate

Immerse yourself in an enlightening panel discussion featuring community leaders as we commemorate the legacy of Ntozake Shange and delve into the profound impact of the Theater of the Black Arts Movement. Join us for an insightful conversation that explores Shange's influential contributions to theater and her enduring influence on our cultural landscape.

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Ntozake Shange was an American playwright and poet. As a Black feminist, she addressed issues relating to race and Black power in much of her work. She is best known for her Obie Award-winning play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf" (1975). She also penned novels, including Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (1982), Liliane (1994), and Betsey Brown (1985), about an African-American girl running away from home.

Panelists

Nina Angela Mercer, PhD, is a cultural worker and multidisciplinary artist residing in Washington, D.C. Her notable plays include "Gutta Beautiful" (performed at The Warehouse Theatre, The Woolly Mammoth for DC’s Fringe, Abrons Arts Center, and Little Carib Theatre); "Itagua Meji: A Road & A Prayer" (featured at Brecht Forum, Alternate Roots, Rutgers University Newark and New Brunswick, and The Nuyorican Poets Café); "Gypsy & The Bully Door" (staged at The Warehouse Theatre and the former Dumbo Sky); "Elijaheen Becomes Wind" (presented at Anacostia Arts Center); "Charisma at the Crossroads" (held at Dorothy Young Arts Center); "Sparrow" (performed at The Langston Hughes House); and "A Compulsion for Breathing" (featured at The Schomburg Center and Target Margin Theater). Nina also collaborated with Urban Bush Women as a writer and performer during the development of "Haint Blu."

Derrick Weston Brown holds an MFA in Creative Writing from American University and is the founding Poet-In-Residence of Busboys and Poets. A graduate of the Cave Canem and VONA summer workshops, he is a participating author in the PEN-Faulkner Foundation’s Writers-In-Schools-Program. His work has been published in print journals and online publications such as Racebaitr, Colorlines, and Bayou Magazine. His debut poetry collection, "Wisdom Teeth," was released in 2011 through PM Press, and his second collection, a chapbook entitled "On All Fronts," was released in March 2019 as part of the Floodgates Vol. 5 series from Upper Rubber Boot Press. Currently residing in PG County, Maryland, Derrick is a Creative Writing teacher at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

Soyica Diggs Colbert, PhD, serves as the Vice President for Interdisciplinary Initiatives and Idol Family Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts at Georgetown University. A recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Colbert is the author of several books, including the award-winning "Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry." Described as a "loving, lavishly detailed" (New York Times) and captivating portrait of Lorraine Hansberry’s life, art, and political activism—listed as one of O Magazine's best books of April 2021. According to Dave Itzkoff in The New York Times Book Review, "Radical Vision" is "A devoted and deeply felt account of the development of an artist’s mind." In this acclaimed biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Colbert narrates a life at the intersection of art and politics, arguing that, for Hansberry, the theater served as a rehearsal room for her political and intellectual work.

Remembering the Black Arts Movement is a multi-day symposium that presents panels, readings, and discussions centered on the writers, work, and impact of the Black Arts Movement. This movement, named for a group of motivated Black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers, emerged in the wake of significant civil rights activism and legislation. The event will shine a spotlight on the work and impact of notable writers from the movement, including Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, Ntozake Shange, Gil Scott-Heron, Sonia Sanchez, and Audre Lorde. Each day is designed to provide community members with the opportunity to meet each other, learn about the profound influence of the Black Arts Movement, and connect with local artists, scholars, and historians based in the DMV