ABSTRACT
From Sonia Sanchez’s “poemplays” to Barbara Ann Teer’s ritualistic revivals, the experimental works of women dramatists of the Black Arts movement (1965–1976) demonstrate a continuation of Black women’s activist traditions from within the Black Power milieu. These innovative works, as well as J.E. Franklin’s radical reconceptualization of the musical, reveal a deep commitment to the struggle for the liberation of all Black people and a desire to use experiential knowledge to create multiple visions of Black womanhood. In so doing, these dramatists provided the foundation for Black feminist drama and created a counter-discourse that critiqued Western cultural hegemony.
