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Media Contact(s) : Renita Mathis Assistant Director Public Relations/Communications (404) 270-5013 rmathis@spelman.edu		Tomika DePriest Executive Director Public Relations/Communications (404) 270-5060 tdepriest@spelman.edu

Spelman College Cosby Endowed Professor Pearl Cleage Explores the Voice of Black Women Writers in February

To highlight the voice of women at the forefront of today’s Black literary renaissance, best-selling author and award-winning playwright Pearl Cleage, Cosby endowed professor of humanities at Spelman College, will host a three-part series of conversations titled SisterSpeak & More in February. Programs include an evening with the host herself, and Cleage in dialogue with nationally known authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Tayari Jones. In addition, the Spelman College drama department will present two Cleage-authored, one-act plays, “Chain” and “Late Bus to Mecca” in February.

Many have heard February referred to as Black History Month, but Cleage laughs when she explains how the month has evolved into what some are calling ‘Black Women Writers Month at Spelman.’ "The drama department was already planning to do the plays when I decided that I wanted to do a one woman show, a conversation between me and the audience,” she explained. “At some point, I decided to invite two other writers to visit the campus during the same month for a series of readings and conversations about their work. It's wonderful to have a chance to present my work and the work of two other significant contemporary authors like Tina McElroy Ansa and Tayari Jones in an intimate setting. The fact that all three of us are graduates of Spelman is just icing on the cake."

An Evening with Pearl Cleage, her one-woman show, directed by her husband and long time collaborator, Zaron W. Burnett Jr., will include several pieces she premiered as part of the Just Us Theatre "Live at Club Zebra Series!" and "We Speak Your Names," a piece that was commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for her 2005 Legends Weekend.

Also in February, Baby Brother’s Blues, Cleage’s fifth novel will be released, and Sweet Honey in the Rock will present her with a Trailblazer Award during their annual concert at Sisters Chapel on Spelman’s campus. The author of a dozen plays and four novels, including a New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick, "What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day,” "I Wish I Had A Red Dress," "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do" and "Babylon Sisters," Cleage is elated that these milestones are occurring during her return to her alma mater as a Cosby Endowed Professor.

"One of the reasons I was so excited about coming back to Spelman is to have an opportunity to exchange ideas with the students and faculty on this campus, as well as the broader local community,” said Cleage. “Hosting this series of conversations will give me an opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences with this audience in a way that draws on my experience as a writer and as a performer. Bringing two of my favorite writers to campus to continue this dialogue makes it an even richer experience for me and for those who come to share the time with us."

Cleage, based in the Women's Research and Resource Center at Spelman, is teaching one course each semester, and interacting with students outside of the classrooms through programs such as SisterSpeak & More. One of her responsibilities as Cosby Chair is to present an event, or series of events, on the campus to which the wider community can be invited along with members of the campus community. Organizing and hosting these programs that will explore the voice of Black women writers at Spelman College during the month of February will help her realize this mission.

SisterSpeak & More Program Schedule
February 4, 8 p.m.
An Evening With Pearl Cleage
Reception immediately following
Spelman College — Baldwin Burroughs Theatre
Free Admission

February 11, 4 p.m.
A Conversation With Pearl Cleage and Tina McElroy Ansa
Spelman College — Cosby Auditorium
Free Admission

February 18, 4 p.m.
A Conversation With Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones
Spelman College — Cosby Auditorium
Free Admission

February 9-11 and 16-18, 8 p.m.
February 12 and 19, 3 p.m.
"Late Bus to Mecca" and "Chain"
Spelman College — Maya Angelou Practice Theatre
Tickets: $5 for students and $10 for the public
*Proceeds to benefit Spelman College.

February 18, 7 p.m.
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Spelman College — Sisters Chapel
Tickets: $20 students; $25 for the public
Call (404) 371-8404 to purchase tickets
Proceeds to benefit The Fund for Southern Communities
Pearl Cleage to receive the fund's annual Torchbearer Award for Social Justice

The Cosby Endowed Professorship Program:
In 1987, Drs. William and Camille Cosby gave Spelman College a $20 million gift to construct a 69,000 square foot facility that would provide an intellectual nucleus for faculty in the humanities and women's studies. This gift, the largest from an African American to a historically Black college, also established the William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professorship Program. Endowed at $4 million, this program supports professorships in the fine arts, humanities and the social sciences. It is a multidisciplinary initiative designed to enhance the intellectual, cultural and creative life of Spelman College and its surrounding community.

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Spelman College:
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is the only historically Black college in the nation to be included on the U.S. News and World Report's list of top 75 "Best Liberal Arts Colleges — Undergraduate," 2005. Located in Atlanta, Ga., this private, historically Black women's college boasts outstanding alumnae, including Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman; U.S. Foreign Service Director General Ruth Davis; authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Pearl Cleage and actress LaTanya Richardson. More than 83 percent of the full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees and the student-faculty ratio is 12:1. Annually, nearly one-third of Spelman students receive degrees in the sciences. The students number more than 2,186 and represent 43 states and 34 foreign countries. For more information regarding Spelman College, visit: www.spelman.edu.