March 5, 1939 Charles Henry Fuller, Jr., playwright and novelist, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fuller attended Villanova University before serving in the United States Army from 1959 to 1962. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from La Salle College in 1967 and was a co-founder of the Afro-American Arts Theater in Philadelphia that [...]
Tag Archives | playwright
January 12th in African American History – Lorraine Hansberry
January 12, 1965 Lorraine Hansberry, African-American playwright and author, died. Hansberry was born May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to New York City in 1950 to pursue a career as a writer. In 1959, her play, “A Raisin in the Sun” debuted on Broadway. It was the first play written by an African [...]
December 18th in African American History – Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis
December 18, 1917 Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis, actor, director, playwright and social activist, was born in Cogdell, Georgia. Davis began his acting career in 1939 with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem and made his film debut in 1950 in “No Way Out.” Over the next 55 years, he appeared in almost 50 movies, including [...]
November 30th in African American History – James Arthur Baldwin
November 30, 1987 James Arthur Baldwin, novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and civil rights activist, died. Baldwin was born August 2, 1924 in Harlem, New York. When he was 17, Baldwin began to write short stories, essays, and book reviews, many of which were later collected in “Notes of a Native Son” (1955). In 1948, disillusioned [...]
September 23rd in African American History – George Costello Wolfe
September 23, 1954 George Costello Wolfe, playwright and director of theater and films, was born in Frankfort, Kentucky. Wolfe earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Pomona College and then taught for several years in Los Angeles and New York where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts from New York University in 1983. [...]
September 9th in African American History – Wilsonia Benita Driver (Sonia Sanchez)
September 9, 1934 Wilsonia Benita Driver (Sonia Sanchez), poet and playwright, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1943, Sanchez moved to Harlem, New York to live with her father. In 1955, she earned a Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science from Hunter College. Later she completed postgraduate work at New York University.
May 22nd in African American History – James Mercer Langston Hughes
May 22, 1967 James Mercer Langston Hughes, poet, novelist, and playwright, died. Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He began writing in high school where he wrote for the school newspaper, edited the yearbook, and wrote short stories, poetry, and dramatic plays. Hughes earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Langston University [...]