Tribute to a Woman: Shirley Graham Du Bois in Oberlin and Accra
Presented by Naa Ajele Awulka Akua Sharp

Shirley Graham Du Bois ’34 was an Oberlin alumna, composer, playwright, biographer, nation builder, and activist. She was one of the first black women to stage an opera in the United States and one of the earliest black women musicologists.

Graham DuBois arrived on Oberlin’s campus in 1931. While a student at Oberlin, she composed and directed TomTom, the first opera written and staged by an African American woman. The debut of TomTom drew an audience of over 25,000. She went on to author seven plays, 10 biographies, two novels, and served as the founding director of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.