Voice of the Community

Shakespeare in American Life: Shakespeare is a Black Woman

William Shakespeare
Given by Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, 1856, on display in Room 4 at the National Portrait Gallery, London, England, United Kingdom

Airs Sunday, May 1, at 6 p.m. Shakespeare is a Black Woman: Shakespeare in American Politics.  In 1849, disputes over British and American acting styles touched off a deadly riot. The most famous black Shakespearean of the 19th century was an American who went to Europe after he saw black actors arrested for performing Shakespeare in the US. In the 1980s, Shakespeare was drawn into battles over race and gender on college campuses. The program also explores the supremely conflicted African-American sense of ownership when it comes to Shakespeare.

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