Pearl Primus in The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Pearl Primus (1919–1994) came to the New Dance Group from a WPA unit, and in 1944 choreographed The Negro Speaks of Rivers, which premiered on Broadway. Based on the 1921 poem by Langston Hughes (1902–1967), a renowned poet who embraced leftist politics, the work traces the heritage of the African American community to four great rivers in the Middle East, Africa, and America. The work explores and protests racial injustice and traces the depths of grief, followed by renewal.
Pearl Primus (1919–1994) came to the New Dance Group from a WPA unit, and in 1944 choreographed <em>The Negro Speaks of Rivers</em>, which premiered on Broadway. Based on the 1921 poem by Langston Hughes (1902–1967), a renowned poet who embraced leftist politics, the work traces the heritage of the African American community to four great rivers in the Middle East, Africa, and America. The work explores and protests racial injustice and traces the depths of grief, followed by renewal.