Black History Month at the Library for the Performing Arts

This year, the Library for the Performing Arts celebrates Black History Month by recognizing and celebrating a number of Black artists dedicated to the performing arts. From opera to jazz to theater, these are just a few of the Black artists whose work has made an impact and who have inspired the next generation. 

Henry Grimes was one of the most versatile and innovative performers and double bassists of the 1960s free jazz movement. Grimes initially began playing violin as a kid, but switched to the double bass. Through studying at Juilliard under Frederick Zimmerman of the New York Philharmonic, he quickly developed his reputation as a revolutionary player.

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Grimes gained notoriety within the jazz community, and played with famed performers such as Don Cherry, Anita O'Day, Pharoah Sanders, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Lennie Tristano, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Billy Taylor. In 1965 he released The Call, which at the time was his only recording with his own compositions.

While on a national tour with Jon Hendricks, Grimes relocated to the West Coast in hopes of finding better job opportunities. His double bass was damaged during travel and with the declining performance opportunities out West, Grimes had to sell his bass.

It wasn’t until three decades later in 2002 that Grimes reentered the jazz scene after being rediscovered by Marshall Marrotte, a fan in the jazz community. With the help of Marrotte, Grimes received a new double bass, donated by fellow jazz player, William Parker. Grimes resurfaced and began performing again for the next two decades. 

Henry Grimes’s collection of writings, press pieces, recorded videos and sounds, photographs, and more are available through the Music and Recorded Sound Division, including work from his years “underground.” Check out our archive page for more information!

Playwright Adrienne Kennedy has received a lifetime Obie award, has been inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and, most recently, received the Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. After premiering in 1992, Adrienne Kennedy's play Ohio State Murders opened on Broadway last year, marking the playwright's Broadway premiere. In this blog post, Theatre Division curator Doug Reside looks at what's in our archive related to the play, including photos from its first production at the Great Lakes Theater Festival starring Ruby Dee.

Ohio State Murders is semi-autobiographical, focusing on the fictional Black writer, Suzanne Alexander, as she goes back to her alma mater as a guest speaker to discuss her writing, and explores the calamitous nature of racism.

“Suzanne is torn between one of the ugliest aspects of her life and also one of the most beautiful… She’s trying to deal with the big soup that racism makes of our sensibilities,” said Ruby Dee. 

The play sits as a reminder that “You see how the human race could progress if only we would learn from the past.” –Evan Yionoulis, director of the 2007 production.

Read more about Adrienne Kennedy's Ohio State Murders in the archive at the Library for the Performing Arts.

Geoffrey Holder was a Trinidadian-American artist spanning many decades and disciplines, including acting, film, theatre, dance, and music. At just seven years old, Holder made his official dance debut in Trinidad, and Agnes de Mille eventually invited him to study under her in New York. During his mid-twenties, Holder became the principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. 

After 20 years of performing dance, Holder left to pursue a theater career, making his Broadway debut in 1958’s House of Flowers. From there, Holder expanded to film acting, directing, designing, photography, and choreographing for dance and theatre performances. 

Holder is arguably best known for his work on The Wiz, which landed him his first Tony nominations and wins for Best Direction and Costume Design. 

Asadata Dafora was a dancer and musician from Sierra Leone known for introducing the U.S. to African traditional drums and dance. Throughout his early life, Dafora studied  multiple languages and traveled for school, and always maintained a special interest in African culture and traditions. 

While traveling through Europe, where he studied music and opera, he was recognized for his African-style of dancing in a nightclub, and was contracted to form and teach a dance troupe and go on tour. His tours led him to recognize how uninformed other people were about African culture and dance, and he became impassioned to expose the world to it.   

Dafora moved to New York in 1929 and began to produce and perform in dance, musical, and drama productions. One of his most influential productions, Kykunkor, was the first opera in the U.S. to feature a primarily African-born cast using authentic and traditional African dance and speech. Through his many performances, Dafora was one of the first to challenge the notion that Black and African people should not be taken seriously as performers.

Leontyne Price is considered the first great international African American soprano singer. Price began singing and playing piano at just three years old, and over time gained a love for classical music. She performed all throughout her youth, at family house parties, recitals, and small events. 

Price went on to earn her bachelor's degree in voice from Central State University in Ohio, and through the push and support of her professors and peers, raised money for tuition to study at Juilliard. During her second year at Juilliard, Price was introduced to opera through the Met, and began to study and perform opera. She was discovered through a performance at Juilliard, and cast in Virgil Thomson’s first all-Black opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, kicking off her professional career.

Price went on to perform and tour internationally with many notable groups and theaters, including the NBC Opera Theatre, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera, where she became the first Black leading performer. She performed for 21 seasons at the Met throughout her more than 30-year-career in over 200 performances. 

Price has earned multiple national awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors to name a few. She’s also received 13 Grammys and a Lifetime Achievement Award for opera, becoming the most awarded classical singer. 

For more photos and content about Black History Month and all things performing arts, check out the Library for the Performing Arts Instagram page!