Ntozake Shange was born Paulette L. Williams in Trenton, New Jersey on October 18, 1948, Eloise Williams, a teacher and mental social worker and to Paul T. Williams, an air force surgeon. Shange received her B.S. with honors. Barnard College in New York City awarded him an American Studies degree in 1970. While pursuing her master’s degree, Shange began to connect with feminist writers, poets, and performers after receiving an American Studies degree from the University of Southern California.
Shange met Paula Moss when she joined Malifu Osumare’s dance group, and their future collaborations led to Shange’s piece, the choreopoem for colored females who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1975 at the New Federal Theatre in New York City, before transferring to the Anspacher Public Theatre in 1976. The play won the Obie Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the AUDELCO Award after its Broadway premiere at the Booth Theatre later that year. It was originally written as a choreopoem, but it was later published as a book and converted as a stage play. For Colored Girls, starring Whoopi Goldberg, was written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry in 2010.
1974 – NDEA fellow ( An Act to strengthen the national defense and to encourage and assist in the expansion and improvement of educational programs to meet critical national needs and for other purposes)
Obie Award – The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City.
Outer Critics Circle Award – The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspapers, digital and national publications, and other media beyond Broadway.
Audience Development Committee (Audelco) Award – The AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee, Inc.) is an organization that acknowledges and honors Black Theatre and its artists in New York City.
Mademoiselle Award
Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop Award, 1978 – the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop Foundation, Inc. was created in honor of Silvera and his efforts to support African-American actors and playwrights.
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, 1981 – (for Three Pieces) – The Book Prize program was founded by Art Seidenbaum, a Los Angeles Times book editor from 1978 to 1985.
Guggenheim fellowship, 1981 – Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those “who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.
Medal of Excellence, Columbia University, 1981 – The University Medal for Excellence is awarded each year to an alumnus or alumna, under 45 years of age, whose record in scholarship, public service, or professional life is outstanding.
Obie Award, 1981, for Mother Courage and Her Children – The Obie Awards honor the highest calibre of off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theatre to recognize brave work, champion new material, and advance careers in theatre.
Nori Eboraci Award
Barnard College, 1988
Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund annual writer’s award, 1992 – Between 1990 and 2000, the Lila Wallace- Readers Digest fund awarded more then $9 million to poets , playwrights , noverlists and nonfiction writers so they could focus on writing while also bringing their talents to the community.
Paul Robeson Achievement Award, 1992 – The Paul Robeson Award is presented annually by Actors’ Equity Association to honor an individual for both artistic achievement and exemplary humanitarian service.
Arts and Cultural Achievement Award
National Coalition of 100 Black Women (Pennsylvania chapter), 1992 – The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) advocates and promotes gender equity in health, education and economic empowerment
Taos World Poetry Heavyweight Champion, 1992, 1993, 1994 – Poetry bouts are presented in the format of a boxing match, with a referee, bell, judges, ring person, and ten rounds.
Living Legend Award, National Black Theatre Festival, 1993 – The Grammy Legend Award, or the Grammy Living Legend Award, is a special award of merit given to recording artists by the Grammy Awards, a music awards ceremony that was established in 1958.
Claim Your Life Award
WDAS-AM/FM, 1993
Monarch Merit Award The Order of Merit Ordre du Mérite) is an award, for notable work in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture.
National Council for Culture and Arts – is a Mexican government agency in charge of the nation’s museums and monuments, promoting and protecting the arts (visual, plastic, theatrical, musical, dance, architectural, literary, televisual and cinematographic), and managing the national archives.
Supersisters trading card set (one of the cards featured Shange’s name and picture), 1979 Supersisters was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement.
Pushcart Prize – The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best “poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot” published in the small presses over the previous year
St. Louis Walk of Fame inductee The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there.Contribution can be in any area; most of the current inductees made their achievements in acting, entertainment, music, sports, art/architecture, broadcasting, journalism, science/education and literature.
Proclamation of “Ntozake Shange Day” (Borough of Manhattan, New York) by Congressman Charles Rangel on June 14, 2014.
Shelley Memorial Award– The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.[1] The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is currently worth (2014) between $6,000 and $9,000
Nominations
Emmy Award, 1977, nominee, Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, An Evening with Diana Ross The Big Event
Tony Award, 1977, nominee, Tony Award for Best Play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Grammy Award, 1978, nominee, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf