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.