Martha Elizabeth (Evans) Evans-Charles (1936 - 2006)

Born 31 Jul 1936 in New York City, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Amos Alexander Charles Jr. — married about 1959 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States

Died 14 Dec 2006 at age 70 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message]

Martie (Evans) Evans-Charles is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Martie (Evans) Evans-Charles is Notable.

Martha Evans-Charles was an American playwright.

Martha Elizabeth Evans was born on July 31, 1936 in New York City. She was the daughter of Walter Alexander Evans and actor Estelle Rolle. Her father had immigrated from the Cayman Islands and her mother from the Bahamas, and had married in New York City in 1935. Martha was their first born child.

On the 1940 US Census, her family was living in Manhattan, and she was shown as being 3 years old, with her father the only one working, employed as a porter. By the 1950 US Census, her family was still living in Manhattan, and she was listed as being 13 years old, with her father the only one working, employed as a draftsman in an architect's office. Her mother is noted as having "never worked".

At the age of about 23 years old, she married Amos Alexander Charles in the Bronx. It is not known if she attended college.

Beginning in the late 1960's, she began publishing plays. Later reports of her work indicated that she was regarded as a "black woman intellectual" and focused her plays primarily on "black women's history and culture".

In 1969, she published a play titled "Where We At?". In 1970, she published a play titled, "Black Cycle", which was produced in several theaters. She also published in 1970 a play titled "Job Security". In 1972, her play "Jamimma" was presented at Woodie King's New Federal Theatre on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 1974, she published a play titled "Asante". In 1977, her play "African Interlude" was presented at Woodie King's New Federal Theatre. She also created a play titled "Friends" that had two versions, both with no specified date as to their publishing.

Her plays were also said to have helped launch the New Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, and her mother was also a member there. It is not known if her mother ever acted in one of her daughter's plays.

Following the U.S. national tragedy of 9/11, Martie was asked to join a number of other well-known New York writers to provide scripts for famous New York personages to read in tribute for the victims. It was titled, "Readings in Tribute to WTC Victims" and held from October 26 through December 9, 2001 at the New Federal Theatre. In 2005, she both directed and produced a filmed interview she held with Gordon Parks, an acclaimed black photographer for Life magazine. The video was simply titled, "Gordon Parks Interview".

She died in 2006, several months after her 70th birthday. Sadly, at least one report indicates that as the movement to highlight black topics on the stage seemed to have lost momentum, Mattie's work has largely gone unnoticed and she remains one of the many unsung heroes of her generation.

Sources

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GKT8-5SJ

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQST-C31 : 21 January 2020), Martha E Evan in household of Walter A Evan, Assembly District 22, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-1947A, sheet 11B, line 57, family 264, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2671.

• "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:6XRW-XL9X : Sun Jan 29 11:10:41 UTC 2023), Entry for Walter Evans and Estelle Evans, 10 April 1950.

• "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLS2-P4QY : 19 June 2017), Amos Charles and Martha Evans, 1959, Bronx, New York City, New York, United States;Marriage, Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, from Reclaim the Records, The NYC Marriage Index (http://www.nycmarriageindex.com : 2016); citing New York City Clerk's Office.

• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J5TH-42H : 12 January 2021), Martha Elizabeth Evanscharles, 14 Dec 2006; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/martha-evans-charles-obituary?id=29584302

• https://newfederaltheatre.com/nft-artist/martie-evans-charles/

• https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv43vt58
  • Forsgren, La Donna. In Search of Our Warrior Mothers: Women Dramatists of the Black Arts Movement. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2018.

• https://playbill.com/article/nycs-new-federal-theatre-to-present-30-readings-in-tribute-to-wtc-victims-oct-26-dec-9-com-99370

• https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20721#detailed

• https://www.americantheatre.org/2022/06/13/shauneille-perry-pioneer-on-page-and-stage/