The Mighty Triumvirate: Hansberry, Baldwin & Simone

The Lorraine Hansberry Coalition (LHC), with generous support from the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, NY,  is dedicated to celebrating the life of acclaimed playwright, author, and activist Lorraine Hansberry and her connection with Croton-on-Hudson. A volunteer-driven group, the LHC creates innovative and inclusive opportunities that reflect the values and ideals by which Hansberry led her life, and welcome new members to join!2024-2025 Co-Chairs:Signe Bergstrom and Lynda JonesContact:coh.di.lhc@gmail.com.

The Lorraine Hansberry Coalition of Croton

Join the LHC for a 2-day program celebrating the friendship, art, and activism of Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, &amp; Nina Simone.

Croton Free Library

The LHC of Croton Presents

"The LHC of Croton Presents" is a collection of seminars/talks, music performances, and art/author events hosted by the LHC (www.lhcoalition.org) and dedicated to educating the public about the life and legacy of Lorraine Hansberry.

<h3>The Mighty Triumvirate: Hanberry, Baldwin &amp; Simone</h3><h3> </h3>Presented by the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition (LHC) of Croton, The Mighty Triumvirate provides an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the lives and friendships of three artistic giants—Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, and Nina Simone—whose work and legacies continue to inspire us today.The October 4-5, 2025, weekend program is divided into two unique events: a panel discussion on Saturday, October 4 and, in partnership with the Arts &amp; Humanities Advisory Council, an afternoon jazz concert on Sunday, October 5.The events are free to the public and take place at the Croton Free Library, 2-4PM both days. Space is limited. Register to one or both days! PLEASE SELECT DATE WHEN REGISTERING.QUESTIONS/CONCERNS? Email us at coh.di.lhc@gmail.com

<h3>PANEL DISCUSSION: October 4, 2025, 2PM-4PM, Croton Free Library</h3>Join the Lorraine Hansberry Coalition (LHC) and panelists Dr. Soyica Colbert, author of Radical Vision, Baldwin scholar Dr. Rich Blint, and ethnomusicologist Aja Burrell Wood for an engaging conversation at the Croton Free Library as we discuss how these influential artists became friends, supported and challenged one another, and helped shape the civil rights movement.What lessons can we take from the lives of the mighty triumvirate? Let's discover together! <h3>JAZZ CONCERT: October 5, 2025, 2PM-4PM, Croton Free Library</h3>The LHC and Croton's Arts &amp; Humanities Advisory Council welcome jazz vocalist Charenee Wade along with Oscar Perez (piano), Mimi Jones (bass), and Jerome Jennings (drums) to the Croton Free Library to perform music inspired by Nina Simone and her contemporaries.Come enjoy a weekend of music and community with us!

<h3>Meet our Panelists</h3>Rich Blint is a Research Associate in the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania where he is completing upcoming books including, A Radical Interiority: James Baldwin and the Personified Self in Modern American Culture, and Duppy Umbrella and Other Stories. He is co-editor of a special issue of African American Review on James Baldwin (Winter 2014), and wrote the introduction and notes for Baldwin for Our Times: Writings from James Baldwin for a Time of Sorrow and Struggle (Beacon Press 2016). The co-editor of African American Literature in Transition, 1980-1990 (Cambridge University Press 2023), Blint’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Bomb Magazine, African American Review, James Baldwin Review, Anthropology Now, The Believer, McSweeney's, and the Brooklyn Rail. He serves on the Executive Board of African American Review and is a contributing editor to James Baldwin Review. He has held academic and administrative appointments at Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Barnard College, and the New School, and has been interviewed on a range of topics by outlets including the New York Times, Time, The Brian Lehrer Show, NPR’s ALL OF IT with Alison Stewart, CBC’s About Ideas, BBC’s The Forum, and the Amsterdam News.

Soyica Diggs Colbert is the interim Provost and Idol Family at Georgetown University. She is a recipient of the Guggenheim fellowship and the author of the award-winning book, Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry. She has also held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a residency at the Schomburg Center, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Stanford University, Mellon Foundation, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Emory University. Colbert has also lectured nationally and internationally at universities, high schools, and middle schools as well as for civic and art organizations. Colbert’s writing has been featured in the The New York Times, Washington Post, Public Books and American Theatre. She has been interviewed on NPR and commented for the New York Times, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post. She was an Associate Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. and served as a Creative Content Producer for The Public Theatre’s audio play, shadow/land. Her research interests span the 19th-21st centuries, from Harriet Tubman to Beyoncé, and from poetics to performance.

Aja Burrell Wood is the managing director for Berklee's Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. Wood oversees the day-to-day operations of the institute and collaborates with founder and artistic director Terri Lyne Carrington on developing curriculum, programs, and initiatives in addition to teaching courses related to gender and justice in jazz, and curating events, among other duties.Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Wood is an ethnomusicologist, educator, and curator with a background in development and violin performance. She has taught courses on music, history, and culture at the City University of New York (CUNY), City College, and Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Her work includes research on musical community among black classical musicians, women in jazz, jazz in the digital era, music and civic engagement in Harlem, and other related genres of the African diaspora such as blues, hip-hop, soul, and West African traditions. She has been a visiting fellow at the New School in addition to her role as guest lecturer at New York University and various institutions throughout New York City.Wood was formerly the director of operations for Gate Pass Entertainment and has been the associate director of special projects and public engagement for Wynton Marsalis Enterprises. She has curated performances for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for their annual Women’s Jazz Festival. She has also served as an arts-presenting consultant and thought partner for Harlem Stage, Weeksville Heritage Center, Revive Music Group, and the Sphinx Organization.With a deep focus on the intersections of race, gender, and performance, she has curated transformative programs and initiatives that amplify the work of gender equity in jazz. Aja’s work bridges academia and performance, shedding light on underrepresented stories in the music industry.

<h4>(From top: Blint, Colbert, and Wood.)</h4>

<h3>Meet the Band</h3> Charenee Wade is an international and national performer who has performed at the Jazz Gallery, Zinc Bar, Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, and Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. Her debut album, Love Walked In, was released in 2010. Her second album, entitled Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron &amp; Brian Jackson, was released five years later. She is a frequent performer at music festivals around the world, including opening for Herbie Hancock at the 2003 Clifford Jazz Festival.