Ntozake Shange

Ntozake Shange (pronounced En-toe-ZAK-kay SHONG-gay) is an African American playwright, performance artist, and writer who is best-known for her Obie Award winning play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Among her honors and awards are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, and a Pushcart Prize. Shange lives in Philadelphia.

Shange's Early Years

Shange was born as Paulette Williams in Trenton, New Jersey on October 18, 1948 to an upper middle class family. Her father, Paul T. Williams, was an Air Force surgeon and her mother, Eloise Williams, was an educator and a psychiatric social worker.

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When she was eight, Shange's family moved to the racially segregated city of St. Louis. As a result of the Brown v. Board of Education court decision, Shange was bussed to a white school where she suffered through a lot of racism and racist attacks. Despite this, Shage's family had a strong interest in the arts and encouraged her artistic education. Among the guests at the home were Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Chuck Berry, and W. E. B. Du Bois.

Related Topics:
Brown v. Board of Education - Dizzy Gillespie - Miles Davis - Chuck Berry - W. E. B. Du Bois

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