2018 EVERY BODY MOVE HONOREE

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NTOZAKE SHANGE

Ntozake Shange, one of America’s greatest living writers—has given voice to, and embodied, the ongoing struggle of Black and all other women for equality, dignity, and respect as well as the recognition of their enormous contribution to human culture.

The 2016-2017 season marked the 40 the Anniversary of, her best-known theatre piece, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the Rainbow Is enuf. Its stunningly successful, 2 ½ year run on Broadway stands as the most successful by an African American straight-play author in Broadway history. The play remains in continuous print since its publication in 1974, was made into a motion picture by Tyler Perry in 2010, and is a staple in the required reading lists of many major school districts, colleges and universities.

Dr. Shange has been recently honored as the 2016 Langston Hughes Medal for Literature by CUNY and the 2018 Percy Bush Shelley Award poetry by Poetry Society of America. Ms. Shange is engaged in an ongoing schedule of lectures, residencies, and spoken-word performances.