October 20, 2025
Cleage is known for her transformative plays centering on Black women’s experiences.
Pearl Cleage, an acclaimed writer known for her emphasis on Black feminist ideology, now reigns as a 2025 recipient of the Legacy Playwrights Award.
Cleage currently works as a distinguished artist in residence at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta. The playwright and essayist has written multiple works in prose and for the stage, becoming the city’s first Poet Laureate. Now, she will earn another high honor for her significant achievement in stage writing.
Known for plays such as Blues for an Alabama Sky; Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous; and Flyin’ West, her work focuses on the Black experience from a feminist lens. The Spelman alumna’s works have garnered acclaim and attention from scholars, often using her text as a foundation for Black feminist discussion.
Born to Black radical parents, as her father, civil rights leader Albert Cleage, founded the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church and the Shrine of the Black Madonna, this upbringing has greatly influenced her writing. With a grounded emphasis on the intersections of race and sex, Cleage is a transformative writer who unapologetically centers her work on Black women’s livelihoods. Many stories take place in Atlanta, as her stories explore Black Southern identity and womanhood.
Cleage has received numerous awards throughout her writing career, earning a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dramatists Guild as well as the Paul Robeson Award from the Actors’ Equity Foundation.
As for her latest recognition with the Legacy Playwrights Initiative, Cleage shared her thoughts on the honor while reflecting on her career as a playwright. She acknowledged the “endless challenge” that comes with this profession, but still considers it her wildest passion.
“To be able to spend my life as a working playwright is a great blessing and an endless challenge. To be honored by my peers for doing the work I love is a true pleasure, and I’m just getting started good!” said Cleage in a statement obtained by Playbill.
With her award, alongside fellow recipient David Greenspan, Cleage will receive a monetary grant, advocacy, and financial incentives for the production of her work. She will also get programs shedding light on her plays as well as interviews marking her storied career.
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