Overview

Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress; playwright; and professor known for creating a unique form of documentary theater in which she performs multiple real people based on their actual words from interviews. Her landmark one-woman shows "Fires in the Mirror" (1992) about the Crown Heights riots and "Twilight: Los Angeles; 1992" about the Rodney King riots established her as a pioneering voice in using performance art to examine racial conflict and social injustice in America. She interviewed hundreds of people affected by these events and performed their words verbatim; giving voice to perspectives across racial and class lines that mainstream media ignored. Her work on sundown towns and racial geography in America has illuminated the hidden history of communities that excluded Black Americans through violence; threats; and discriminatory ordinances. She is a professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has appeared in film and television including "The West Wing;" "Nurse Jackie;" and "Black-ish." She received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2012.

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1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports