Abstract
I compare the historical context of African American women’s roles throughout history to their current advancement in American theatre using a grounded theory discovered during the research for this paper called Black Womanist Bridge Theory. It is based on of a comparative analysis of The Bridge Poem by Donna Kate Rushin and the issues that have historically weighed against black women in moving forward socially, academically, and professionally, and how in lieu of these experiences they have managed to excel in their fields and become trailblazers for the organizations they represent. There are four black women that I studied, they include Nataki Garrett, Former Executive Director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sarah Bellamy, Artistic Director of Prenumbra Theatre, Valerie Curtis-Newton, Director of University of Washington’s Professional Theatre Director Department, and Janis Burley, President of August Wilson African American Cultural Center. What experiences and qualities do these women have in common that make them such dynamic leaders? What changes are happening in American Theatre today that are benefiting from their leadership? Through interviews, press releases, personal statements, newspaper articles, peer reviewed journals, black feminist’s literature, and my own embodied ethnographic experiences I have engaged the Black Womanist Bridge Theory and concluded that many black women engaged in leadership practices do so by using their intersectional experiences to build bridges of understanding for the sake of social justice.
Presenters
Sadiqua ImanDirector of Programs and Partnerships, Programs, LANGSTON, Washington, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
BLACK, WOMEN, STEREOTYPES, JUSTICE, CAREGIVERS, HOSPITALITY, INTERSECTIONALITY
