Black History

Try out our quiz about the many Black women who engaged with Shakespeare’s works and world, from the Black women who lived in London in Shakespeare’s time to the stars, directors, and scholars of today.

The first Black actor to play a wide variety of Shakespearean roles in America, Hyman was equally loved for his portrayals of Panthro in ThunderCats and Russell Huxtable on The Cosby Show. His papers are now in the Folger collection.

Patricia Akhimie, curator of the Folger exhibition To Hear Her Speak, asks: “What do Black women and Shakespeare have to do with each other?” Quite a bit over 400 years it turns out, as she shows in the catalog’s introduction.

In his groundbreaking documentary, We Were Here, Folger Fellow Fred Kuwornu shares the diverse African presence in Renaissance Europe—princes, ambassadors, saints, artists, scholars, and knights—all revealed through art from the period.

19th-century American Actor Ira Aldridge is remembered as a pioneering performer who refused to let racism prevent him from pursuing his passion for performing Shakespeare, first in New York and then abroad. Explore his story.

Al Letson’s play Julius X acts as a sort of Venn diagram that allows us to twice witness a familiar text (Julius Caesar), with a harsh and violent moment of American history that marked a significant contest waged by Black Americans for freedom and equality.

In celebration of Black History Month, we’re sharing Shakespeare Unlimited podcast interviews, lectures, and blog posts with acclaimed Black artists, poets, scholars, and educators about Shakespeare through history.

To commemorate Black History Month, we’re sharing interviews with acclaimed Black theater artists—actors, directors, playwrights—and scholars about performing and adapting Shakespeare, then and now.

After 138 years, Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane—the first known opera by a Black American composer—is receiving its world premiere. Learn about this important American composer and how his magnum opus is being brought to life.