Thulani Davis facts for kids

Thulani Davis, born on July 19, 1949, is an American writer. She is known for her work as a playwright, journalist, novelist, and poet. She also writes librettos, which are the words for operas.

In 1992, Thulani Davis won a Grammy Award. She received it for her notes on the album Aretha Franklin's Queen Of Soul – The Atlantic Recordings. She was the first woman to win this award. She has also worked with her cousin, composer Anthony Davis. Together, they created the words for two operas.

Davis wrote for the Village Voice newspaper for over ten years. She also helped guide a young journalist named Greg Tate. Thulani Davis has also worked with writer Ntozake Shange.

About Thulani Davis

Thulani Davis was born to two African-American teachers from Virginia. Her parents were Willie Louise Davis and Collis Huntington Davis Sr. Her family's history in Virginia is the topic of her 2006 book, My Confederate Kinfolk.

Early Life and Education

Davis finished high school at the Putney School in 1966. She then went to Barnard College and graduated in 1970. She also studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

After college, Davis moved to San Francisco. There, she worked as a reporter for the San Francisco Sun-Reporter. She covered important news stories of the time.

Becoming a Writer and Artist

In San Francisco, Thulani Davis became a performing poet. She worked with many musicians and poets. She also joined the Third World Artists Collective. Here, she collaborated with Ntozake Shange and other artists.

In the 1970s, Davis moved back to New York City. She wrote for Village Voice for 13 years. She eventually became a Senior Editor there. In 1981, she introduced her friend Greg Tate to the Village Voice music editor. Tate later became a very important cultural critic.

Working on Operas

In the mid-1980s, Davis started working with her cousin, composer Anthony Davis. They created their first opera together. Thulani Davis wrote the libretto (the words) for X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

They worked together again in the 1990s. Davis wrote the libretto for the opera Amistad (1997). This opera was first performed by the Chicago Lyric Opera. The story is about a group of people who took control of a Spanish ship. This event later led to a case in the United States Supreme Court.

The Amistad opera was changed and improved in 2008. This new version was shown at the Spoleto USA festival. Critics said it was "much leaner, more focused and dramatically far more effective than the original." They also said it became "a masterpiece of American opera."

Other Creative Projects

After returning to New York City, Davis also started working on documentaries and movies. Her brother, Collis Huntington Davis Jr., who is a filmmaker, introduced her to other Black filmmakers. Her first documentary was shown on PBS.

Thulani Davis continues to work on many creative projects. These include operas, films, novels, and plays. She is also an ordained Buddhist priest in the Jodo Shinshu religion. She started the Brooklyn Buddhist Association with her husband, Joseph Jarman.

Thulani Davis's Works

Books

• The Emancipation Circuit: Black Activism Forging a Culture of Freedom (2022)
• My Confederate Kinfolk (2006)
• Maker of Saints (1996)
• Malcolm X: The Great Photographs (1993)
• 1959, a novel (1992)
• Playing the Changes (1985)
• All the Renegade Ghosts Rise (1978)

Plays

• The Souls of Black Folk (2003)
• Everybody's Ruby: Story of a Murder in Florida (1999)
• Ava & Cat in Mexico (1994)
• Adaptation, Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1990)
• Paint (1982)
• Shadow & Veil, with Ntozake Shange, Jessica Hagedorn, Laurie Carlos, et al. (1982)
• Sweet Talk and Stray Desires (1979)
• Where the Mississippi Meets the Amazon, with Shange and Hagedorn (1977)

Musical Works

• Dark Passages (1998)
• Amistad, an opera, libretto (1997/revised 2008)
• A Woman Unadorned (1994)
• Baobab Four (1994)
• The E. & O. Line, an electronic opera, libretto (1989)
• X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X, an opera, libretto (1986)
• X-cerpts (1987)
• Steppin' Other Shores (1983)
• See Tee's New Blues (1982)

Film and Documentaries

Films

• Paid in Full, screenwriter (2002)
• Maker of Saints, co-producer (2010)

Documentaries and Recordings

• I'll Make Me a World: Black Creative Minds in the 20th Century
• W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices (1996)
• Thulani Davis Asks, 'Why Howard Beach?' (1988)
• Thulani (1984–86)
• Reflections (2002)
• The Musical Railism of Anne LeBaron (1998)
• Songposts, Vol. 1 (1991)
• Without Borders (1989)
• Fanfare for the Warriors (1985)

Awards and Recognition

Thulani Davis has received many awards for her work:

• Inaugural fellow, The Leon Levy Center for Biography, City University of New York Graduate Center, 2008–09
• Fellow, The Newington-Cropsey Foundation Academy of Art, 2007–08
• Fellow, The Charles H. Revson Fellows Program on the Future of the City of New York at Columbia University, 2003–04
• Declared an Admiral of The Great Navy of the State of Nebraska by the Governor of Nebraska, 2004
• The New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, First Annual Legacies Award, for Achieving Unparallelled Excellence in the Arts, 2003
• Induction in the Black Writers Hall of Fame, 1998
• The Ralph Metcalfe Chair, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 1998
• The Paul Robeson Cultural Democracy Award, The Chicago Center for Arts Policy, 1998
• David Randolph Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, The New School, NY, 1998
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Artist-in-residence, 1996
• Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award, 1996–99
• PEW National Theatre Artist Residency Grant, 1993–95
• Grammy Award, Best Album Notes, Aretha Franklin, "The Atlantic Recordings", 1993, First woman to win in category
• Grammy Nomination, Best New Work, Classical, "X, The Life & Times...", 1993
• Chicago Humanities Festival Award, 1992
• New York Foundation for the Arts, The Gregory Millard Fellowship Award, Fiction, 1988
• Manhattan Borough President's Awards, Excellence in the Arts & Literature, 1987
• New York State Council on the Arts, Writer in Residency Award, 1987
• The Fannie Lou Hamer Award, Medgar Evers College, Women's Center, 1987