Meet Gloria J. Browne-Marshall | Writer and Playwright

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gloria J. Browne-Marshall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gloria J., any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
Being a writer of books and essays requires me to keep pushing forward. I must be prepared to take rejection of my work and be thick skinned without becoming cynical. Perseverance can provide me with a victory down the road or around the corner. It’s difficult. But I feel blessed despite facing many obstacles in my personal and professional life. My writing focuses on choices. Choices made by one individual but with generational affect. So my life has been impacted by the choices made by generations in the past. Slavery, segregation, racism, sexism and xenophobia are a few examples of obstacles beyond my control. There’s nothing I can do about that because it’s not about what’s happened to me. It’s my response to those challenges. Sometimes, if I cannot rise to the occasion based on my own stamina, I do so in the name of my ancestors. Another way I rise is based on knowing there are many others who do not have the opportunity to be in my shoes. I act because they were not allowed or able to access the arena of art or academia.

One should keep going if it is their dream. I ask myself if this were the last day of my life, what would be a lasting regret? On a more positive note, I also ask myself if I was independently wealthy how would my life change? Then, I try to replicate the life of wealth based on the resources I actually possess. Each day I appreciate the tender mercies of a birds and flowers and clouds and a friend’s conversation. These things keep me grounded and able to withstand disappointments and betrayals and rejection. However, there are times when even the best of my plans cannot be sustained. In those situations, I must let go, grieve the loss, and move on knowing I did more than my very best.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always been a writer. James Baldwin remains my spiritual mentor. I believe oppression requires all of my talents – writer, activist, playwright, academic, and advocate. My work as an activist and artist speak to the theme of empowerment. My work will continue on that theme, addressing the role of people of color in the history of protests in America. I have spent my career in the service of civil rights and social justice. Prior to my academic career, I worked as a civil rights attorney, litigating cases for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. as well as Southern Poverty Law Center and Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. Throughout my career, I have spoken about trifecta for social change: litigation, legislation, protest.

My first involvement with protest began in third grade with a student march to pass a tax levy to support my local public schools. I have led and participated in many protests including the first antiwar protest in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1991 as well as recent protests about criminal justice, immigration and women’s rights. All of the work I have done up to this point, as a writer, civil rights attorney, academic and activist will inform my writing process and give me the tools I need to present a thoroughly researched and documented picture of the protests that have been a difficult, but necessary, part of American history. My nonfiction work includes five published books, award-winning essays and dozens of articles. I have poetry published and my stage plays produced, nationally.

Inspired by historical and legal milestones, always allowing my subject matter to dictate my medium, I write every day—ranging from carefully researched nonfiction and historical novels, to award-winning scripts written for stage, TV, and film audiences. Whether in a courtroom or classroom, in a play or novel, all of what I do and create stems from the same source: an aim to fight oppression and help empower. I am driven to put ideas in the global marketplace of ideas, based on history and how it affects both the present and the future.

I also write historical fiction. I am passionate about being able to take my subject matter, what I’ve learned through history, and to apply it in the present for us to have a better future. The core of all of my work across genres is to give voice to what I feel is not being said and to say it in a way in which audiences and readers can be empowered. I aim to take insights that I’ve gained and put them out into the world using various platforms determined by what is best for reaching particular audiences.

When it comes to fighting oppression, the subject matter can ebb and flow based on the type of oppression people are facing, much of it centuries if not millennia long. My motivation is to use the victories over oppression in the past to help people feel the power they have in the present. Anyone can choose to make a difference. The freedom to choose is deeply embedded in all of my work, every genre.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my friends to a football game at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium. We would start with a tailgate party. Then we would head to great box seats and enjoy the game with thousands of fans who have come for the fun and pageantry of this great American sport.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
William Haywood Henderson, my mentor at the Book Project at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, has been very supportive of me as an artist. I have wonderfully supportive writing friends Herb Boyd, J. Courtney Sullivan, David G. Burr and Jesse Holland who have given great encouragement and insights into this writing life by word and example.

Website: Browne-Marshall23.com

Instagram: @GBrowneMarshall

Linkedin: Gloria Browne-Marshall

Twitter: @GBrowneMarshall

Facebook: AuthorGloriaBrowneMarshall

Youtube: Gloria Browne-Marshall

Image Credits
Andrew Smallwood