Acknowledgments

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the people who contributed to the creation of this book. First and foremost, we extend our deepest thanks to our mothers, Mrs. Otha L. Reese and Ms. Juliette Walker, and our grandmothers, Mrs. Elizabeth Woods Wiseman and Mrs. Rebecca S. Walker. We cherish the aunts (Betty, Cynthia, Teresa, Pauline, Ida Ruth, Leola, Delores, and Mildred), the sister (Kenyae L. Reese, PhD), and the many Othermothers who have helped mold and shape our audacity as Black women. To our children (Ayo Saadiq Walker, Dexter Rogers, and Olivia Rogers) and “Dear Ole Dad” (Mr. John L. Reese), thank you for your unwavering love and encouragement. Your faith and belief in us kept us motivated during the journey.

We are grateful for galvanizing support from Black Digital Humanities (i.e., Black DH), AFRO PWW 2 (i.e., AFRO Publishing Without Walls 2), and BBIP (i.e., the Black Book Interactive Project). We have received tremendous guidance and reinforcement from these organizations, which are led by marilyn m. thomas-houston, PhD; Maryemma Graham, PhD; Ronald Bailey, PhD; Ayesha K. Hardison, PhD; Sarah Arbuthnot; and Erin Murray.

Thank you to the many people who read versions of this book prior to its completion: Clare Counihan, Carol Therese Young, and our HBCU students Grace Johnson (Fisk University class of 2023), Kennedy Barnes (Winston-Salem State University class of 2023), and Jaiden Gunter (Winston-Salem State University class of 2024). Our sincere appreciation goes to Great Banji-Ojo (Fisk class of 2027) for designing the book cover.

We appreciate the Mellon Foundation’s support for BBIP and AFRO PWW 2 project. The BBIP Digital Publishing Scholars Program is funded by an NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant. Thanks, also, to the UNCF/Mellon Programs (directed by Cynthia Spence, PhD) for awarding a Faculty Development Grant, which granted time to write and think.

We are equally as grateful to our mentors and colleagues (especially Sandra G. Shannon, PhD) whose guidance and influence have been invaluable across the years. Not to be forgotten are the professors in the graduate program in the English Department at Howard University from 2001 to 2010 who pushed us to deepen our understanding of the complexities surrounding representation and identity in literature and the performing arts.

We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the many theatre scholars and artists who have paved the way for this discourse, such as Sydné Mahone, Kathy A. Perkins, Elizabeth Brown-Guillory, Margaret B. Wilkerson, and Carol Marsh-Lockett. Their research and passion for this field have been a guiding light. We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Recognizing this fact, we wish to celebrate both the known and lesser-known Black female playwrights whose work has inspired this project: Suzan-Lori Parks; Dael Orlandersmith; Cheryl West; Aishah Rahman; Velina Hasu Houston, PhD; Ntozake Shange; Lorraine Hansberry; Alice Childress; Lynn Nottage; Katori Hall; S. M. Shephard-Massat; Tanya Barfield; and Dominique Morisseau, among so many others. Their creativity, resilience, and uncharted territories of thought have (re)shaped the landscape of theatre, especially Black theatre. Each of them deserves wide scholarly attention, celebration, and study.

Finally, we dedicate this book to the next generation of playwrights and theatre scholars. May your voices be heard, your stories be told, and your creativity flourish.