Adrienne McNeil Herndon
Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil Herndon (1869-1910) was an actress, professor, and activist in Atlanta, Georgia. While admittedly an African American to friends and colleagues, she performed with the stage name Anne Du Bignon. She was one of the first African American faculty at Atlanta University, where she met W. E. B. Du Bois and subsequently worked with him. Herndon and Alonzo Herndon were an influential couple. Biography Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil was born on July 22, 1869, in Savannah, Georgia. She is described by historian Rebecca Burns as "short and lithe with a lively manner and sophisticated bearing" "[w]ith her creamy skin, wavy brown hair, and dark eyes, Adrienne moved easily [...] and kept her racial background a secret". She was about five feet tall. McNeil was an 1890 graduate of Atlanta University's Normal Department, and attended the Boston School of Dramatic Arts (1902-3) and New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. For her final project she performed Anthony and Cleopatra under the stage name Anne Du Bignon, claiming she was French-Creole. At Atlanta University Herndon became "the first director of dramatics and teacher of elocution" from 1895, until her death in 1910. She was one of the first two African