A Conversation Between Friends

Jene' Watson and Kupenda Auset

Last spring, my friend, Jene' Watson and I, had a conversation about ways we've found inspiration in the lives of our chosen ancestors: pioneering arts activists, Adrienne McNeil Herndon and Maud Cuney Hare. The conversation was recorded by StoryCorps on March 22, 2016.  As a part of the StoryCorps Griot Initiative, the conversation was archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture. CLICK HERE to listen.  

Maud Cuney Hare 

Maud Cuney-Hare was born February 17, 1874. She was an African American musician and writer from Galveston, TX. 

Maud was a folklorist and music historian who was especially interested in African and early American music. She collected songs in Mexico, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, and was the first music scholar to direct public attention to Creole music. 

She married William P. Hare in 1906 and moved to Boston. She gave recitals and lectures and founded the Musical Art Studio. Maud is best known for her book, Negro Musicians and Their Music. Maud died in Boston on February 13, 1936.

Sources: Jene' Watson; 
Dictionary of American Negro Biography
Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, eds.,
(New York: Norton, 1982)

A Secret Place Where Adrienne Herndon Performed

Undated Photo of an audience inside Steinert Hall

It was January 28, 1904 and she herself was a secret.

Adrienne Herndon was smack dab in the middle of Boston's Theater District on the stage of Steinert Hall pretending to be a white woman named Anne DuBignon. In her one-woman show, she played the part of all 22 characters of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra from memory.

In the present day, the once popular theater within the building that housed Steinway & Sons piano company since 1896 is pretty much unknown. Few people (one of whom was Elton John) have been granted a tour of the hall since it's closing 70 years ago and despite her legacy, Adrienne Herndon is lost in history.

Today I was excited to learn that I've been granted special permission to tour Steinert Hall. I will be accompanied by Emmy-award winning journalist, Clennon L. King (www.augustinemonica.com). During my planned visit, which will take place in a couple of months, I will also explore how Adrienne lived, what she was doing, and her associations. Take a look of Steinert Hall as it looked 6 years ago in rare footage captured by Andrew Vella: SteinertHall

Adrienne Herndon used her education, money, experiences and travel for social uplift. She was Chair of Drama and Elocution at Atlanta University for 15 years and was the primary architect of the Herndon Home, which is now a national historic landmark located near Morris Brown College (http://www.herndonhome.org/). She was the first wife of Atlanta's first black millionaire, Alonzo Herndon.

DISGUISING HERSELF AS A WHITE WOMAN

Adrienne Herndon

Adrienne Herndon knew who she was. She was an African-American woman who was not ashamed of her racial identity. She was committed to the African-American community. In Atlanta, she was a prominent and well-respected educator and member of her community. African-American women did not have the luxury of pursuing theater at that time. Still, Adrienne devised a plan to both respond to the needs of her community as well as pursue a career as an actress. She was fully capable of mastering the discipline of Dramatic Arts and her heart was set on the “legitimate” American stage. There was only one looming problem: Her racial identity. It was early 19^th Century and the dangerous Jim Crow era had stipulated that a person with so much as one drop of African blood was considered Negro.   

Her answer to that problem was to step outside of the societal constrictions of race and into the persona and character of a white woman. Drawing on her knowledge of white society, her precision in articulation, and her fair skin, Adrienne did a graceful sidestep and became “Anne DuBignon.” The practice of “situational passing” required assuming the identity of a white person in order gain access to “white-only” facilities and environments. On the home front, Adrienne retained her true identity. In her day, situational passing was distinctive from the resented practice of “crossing over,” which meant that a person relinquished all their social ties with family and friends. 

When she attended the Boston School of Expression and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she was not Adrienne Herndon at all; she was Anne DuBignon, a woman of Creole background. In January 1904, Adrienne took the stage in Steinert Hall in Boston. Before a full audience and having attracted the attention of numerous newspapers she rendered a one-woman show. From memory she meticulously performed the twenty-two characters of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Her commanding performance earned rave reviews in Boston newspapers. Adrienne’s acting skills were so outstanding that theater experts and critics believed she was going to be America’s theatrical darling.

They had no idea their adored "Anne DuBignon" was, in fact, a Race Woman. The imposter had secretly secured an otherwise unattainable education up North and used it to teach African American students down South at Atlanta University. In Atlanta Adrienne Herndon used her influence, status, and dramatic skill to advance social and political causes.

*  Atlanta native Kupenda Auset (Joette Harland Crosby) began her research on Adrienne Herndon while working on her Master's degree in Africana Women’s Studies / History at Clark Atlanta University. Her research and writing on Adrienne Herndon builds on the seminal work of Dr. Carole Merritt, author of The Herndons: An Atlanta Family.

ADRIENNE AND THE 1906 RACE RIOT

Booker T. Washington

September 22 - 24, 1906 - A Race Riot took place in  Atlanta. Mobs of whites killed dozens of blacks. Race relations were already especially testy and when Atlanta newspapers reported alleged assaults by black men on white women, everything came to a head. Though unsubstantiated, the inflammatory newspaper accounts resulted a mob of white men and boys. They went down Decatur Street, Pryor Street, Central Avenue, and throughout the main business district, attacking hundreds of blacks and their businesses. One such business was the barbershop of Adrienne Herndon's husband, Alonzo. The mob also descended on streetcars and trolley cars.  

On September 24, a group of heavily armed blacks held a meeting near downtown Atlanta where Clark College (now Clark Atlanta U) and Gammon Seminary were then located. When police found out about the meeting, they raided it. There was a shootout and an officer was killed. Three companies of armed militia were dispensed to the area to seize weapons and more than 250 black men were arrested.

The riot weakened support of  Booker T. Washington's accommodationist tactics for addressing race relations and it fueled the aggressive strategies of Adrienne's colleague and friend, W.E. B. DuBois. After the riot, DuBois' thoughts were captured in his poem "The Litany of Atlanta." A few months later as spring approached, Adrienne penned her perspectives in a letter to Booker T. Washington. He had invited her to be featured among certain other Black women in a magazine article. She refused to participate and instead wrote a letter declining his invitation:

Atlanta Feb 12 1907

My dear Mr. Washington:  Last year we broke up our home, took our little son to Philadelphia, put him in school there and since my return we have been occupying rooms in the Univ. dormitory.
The house we occupied for ten years was Dr. Bumstead's home so that I feel we have never had a real home.
The riot and the unsettled conditions here make us feel that we can never hope to have one in this ungodly section.  Sometimes I
doubt if there is any spot in this country where one with Negro blood can plant a home free from prejudice scorn & molestation.
The sanctity of the Negro home is to the majority (the vast majority) of the white race a thing unrecgonized.
I thank you for the honor you confer upon me by selecting me among the women for your magazine article.
I appreciate it most highly, but I have come to feel that I should like to hide form the eyes of the white man, or any rate the Southern
white man the things, I, as a Negro woman hold most sacred for fear they pause & look to jeer and ridicule.
You'll say I am growing pessimistic.  Perhaps so, I was born and reared in Ga you know and I live in Atlanta.
My kind regards to Mrs. Washington and my best wishes for the success of your great work there.  Gratefully yours,
                                    Adrienne McNeil Herndon

Adrienne Herndon was an influential and important African-American woman. She used her command of the dramatic arts to educate others, exemplify excellence, and for social upliftment. Her name and contributions belong alongside other historical figures that are well-known. Her life story must be told, written about, and shown in the history of which she was a viable part.

* Atlanta native Kupenda Auset (Joette Harland Crosby) began her research on Adrienne Herndon while working on her Master's degree in Africana Women’s Studies / History at Clark Atlanta University. Her research and writing on Adrienne Herndon builds on the seminal work of Dr. Carole Merritt, author of The Herndons: An Atlanta Family.

An Introduction to Her Purposeful Life

Over 100 years ago, Adrienne McNeil Herndon was remembered posthumously by a poem entitled "In Memoriam." It issued the challenge that her life and legacy be used "To noble purpose."  In the spirit of Adrienne's memory, this blog is intended to raise awareness about the life of this extraordinary African-American dramatic artist and educator.  Her place and importance in American history is a story worth telling and knowing.  In addition to sharing tidbits of interesting information about Adrienne, I will also post here the progression of my research and writing on Adrienne's life.  My work builds on the seminal work of Dr. Carole Merritt, author of The Herndons:  An Atlanta Family.

Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil was born in Augusta, Georgia and grew up in Savannah, Georgia.  She later attended Atlanta University Normal School, where she received training to become an educator.  Adrienne became the wife of Atlanta's first black millionaire, Alonzo Herndon.  Her husband had been born into slavery and after emancipation he acquired great wealth through barbering, real estate, and through what became known as Atlanta Life Insurance Agency. 

Although it was the expectation of married women of her era to be caretakers of children and the home, Adrienne stepped outside of those roles significantly.  As a condition of her marriage, she had her husband to pledge his support to her professional aspirations.  She wanted to become an actress on the legitimate American stage.  By passing for a white woman named Anne DuBignon, Adrienne furthered her education and obtained degrees from the Boston School of Expression and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.  

As the first Head of Drama and Elocution at Atlanta University, Adrienne was one of the most educated women in Atlanta.  She was well-respected by many, including by her AU colleagues, George Towns and W.E.B. DuBois.  Adrienne taught at AU from 1895 - 1910 and became known for the extraordinary Shakespearean productions she staged at the university.  Due to racial barriers, which confined African-American actors to vaudeville and minstrelsy, Adrienne was unable to achieve success on the American stage.  

She placed her artistic talents in college productions, dramatic readings, and as primary architect of The Herndon Home.  Adrienne's artistic talents are evidenced from  the two-story Beaux Arts Classical mansion's elegant and meticulously designed interior to its stately columns and terrace rooftop.

Three months after the mansion was completed, Adrienne died of Addison's disease at the age of 40.  Her only son, Norris, stipulated that after his death, the home would serve as a standing memorial to his mother.  The Herndon Home, a house museum, is located at 587 University Place, Atlanta, Georgia 30314 and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays.  For more information, call (404) 581-9813.