Who is Val Gray Ward?

Val Gray Ward, founder of Chicago's pioneering Black arts theatre Kuumba Professional Theatre Company was born Queenola Valeria Ward on Sunday, August 21, 1932, to Rev. Henry Y. Ward and Mrs. Iola Ward in Mound Bayou, Mississippi — one of the oldest all-black towns in the U.S. She was the 1st girl and 2nd eldest of eight siblings for her parents.

Val who is widely acclaimed as "The Voice of the Black Writer" had an ordained gift for interpreting the word, which manifested at an early age when she theatrically recited poems and won various oratorical competitions at Mound Bayou High School and throughout the state of Mississippi alongside Morgan Freeman. Val's ardent interest in African American literature, intellectualism, Black life, and old Southern Black women profoundly shaped her thoughts and fueled her innate commitment and creativity in the Black arts.

In 1951, Val migrated to the city of Chicago where she married and gave birth to five children Babatu (Zachary), Mukai (LaTanya), Kenneth, Akintola (Ronaldo), and Rhonda. Val's natural penchant for the arts and her relentless dedication to Black empowerment, liberation, Civil Rights, Pan-Africanism, and culture got her deeply involved in the Black Arts Movement (BAM) in Chicago and worldwide. Throughout the years, she cultivated lifelong friendships with Gwendolyn Brooks, Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Nikki Giovani, Mari Evans, Ruby Dee, Hoyt W. Fuller, Lerone Bennett Jr., Betty Shabazz, Jeff Donaldson, and Haki Madhubuti (Don L. Lee) to name a few. She was a regular supporter of the South Side Community Arts Center and the DuSable Museum of African American History. Val appeared in several productions including the film Medium Cool (1969) and hosted her own local television show in Chicago called Reach Out. A much sought after solo artist with a communal spirit, Val quickly became a household name. In 1965, she met her soulmate and life-partner, Francis Ward, veteran journalist, professor emeritus of journalism, and co-founder of National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

It was always Val's vision and mission to revitalize the black community through the arts. In 1968, she and Francis founded the Kuumba Workshop in their south-side home. Kuumba Workshop later became Kuumba Theatre and was driven by its motto "clean-up, create, and build" and its twelve principles. "Kuumba" in Kiswahili means "creativity." Val held the resolute view that theatre was meant to educate and entertain at the same time and "Black art is Black life."

In 1969, Val was the first director of the Afro-American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, IL. Her fearless involvement in the Black power movement and education persisted and resulted in many positive changes for the Black community. Gwendolyn Brooks in her 1967 poem titled "The Wall" called Val "a little Black Stampede."

A pan-Africanist at heart, Val's art and activism took her around the world to Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, Australia, and Asia. She took the theatre to the people and brought the people to the theatre. In 1977, the Kuumba cast and crew of Useni Perkins's play The Image Makers traveled to and pariticipated in FESTAC '77, Lagos, Nigeria. Through Val's artistic direction, Kuumba has produced notable plays such as The Amen Corner by James Baldwin, Welcome to Black River by Samm Art Williams, and Five On The Hand Side by Charles Fuller. In 1981, Val took Kuumba's musical production of The Little Dreamer: The Life of Bessie Smith, to Japan, and played Buddy Bulter's In The House of The Blues, in Montreal, Canada. Notably, Val is also known for her riveting one-woman shows which include "My Soul is a Witness," "Harriet Tubman" by Francis Ward, "Sister Son/ji" by Sonia Sanchez, and "I Am A Black Woman" that features poetry by Mari Evans. Her last major production of "My Soul is a Witness," where she embodies 17 characters, was held at The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in 2015.

Val is the recipient of over 200 awards, including an Emmy for the WTTW PBS television production of her edutainment film Precious Memories: Strolling 47th Street, which was co-written by her husband and won 21 Emmys. Most recently she received the Benjamin Banneker Lifetime Achievement Award with her husband; the Kin Arts Complex "Legends & Legacies" Award in Columbus, OH; the DuSable Museum Lifetime Membership Award; and the 100 Black Women Award. In 2003, Val released her tribute CD album titled Rhapsody in Hughes 101 in honor of the life and works of Langston Hughes, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Her memoir quilt Peace the Way Home is an heirloom for Black lives the world over.

Up until her transition (March 7, 2024), Val gave impactful lectures and spirited interpretations of Black literary works from her wheelchair and bed for the students at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. She was also a faculty member of the Black Arts Movement School Modality (BAMSM) and a founding Advisory Board member of The James Arthur Baldwin Africologic Institute (JABAI) at Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA. In 2022, Val was accepted to receive an honorary doctorate from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL and in 2023 a course was developed in her name at Wellesley College titled Val Gray Ward: The Power of Black Arts, Theatre, & Movement.

Val's timeless and penetrating cultural voice, steadfast stance against injustice and Black exploitation, sharp memory, sweet potato pies, love for fishing, family, friends, intense stare, sturdy grip, and big love remain indelible.

Thank you for your impact and legacy here at the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center! Rest well, our beloved ancestor! 

Note: this biography was curated by the Gray family and originally published in Ms. Val Gray-Ward's obituary.