1944 – Death of Eulalie Spence, Pioneer Black Caribbean Playwright

On June 10, 1944, Eulalie Spence, a playwright of Caribbean descent and a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance, passed away. Born in the British West Indies and raised in Harlem, Spence wrote over a dozen plays that centered the lives of everyday Black women—infusing wit, realism, and Caribbean cultural elements. Her works were performed by the Krigwa Players, a Black theater company founded by W.E.B. Du Bois. As one of the first Black female dramatists to gain recognition in the U.S., Spence used theater to question gender roles, respectability politics, and colorism within Black communities. Her death marked the loss of a trailblazer who bridged Caribbean and African American artistic expression. Today, her legacy lives on in the rich tapestry of diasporic Black literature and theater. June 10 honors her contributions to global Black cultural heritage.