Lorna C. Hill

Lorna C. Hill was a beloved member of Buffalo’s theater community, known for her work as a director, actress, poet, playwright, activist, mentor, and founder of Ujima Company, Inc. She was a profoundly influential community leader who was tireless in her advocacy for racial justice and civil rights. For over 40 years, Hill was a mentor and inspiration to generations of young performance artists. She was an incredible storyteller and used her voice to advocate for justice and love.  

In 1973, Hill graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts in American Intellectual History. She was the first woman to be accepted into Darmouth College. 

In 1978, Hill founded Ujima Company, Inc. Ujima is a multicultural organization dedicated to creating a platform for African American performers, theatre crafts people and administrators. Ujima Company is the oldest, continuously running theater company in Western New York. Hill was Executive Director and Artistic Director since Ujima’s founding, though the company functions as a collective ensemble. Ujima focused on collective work and responsibility in all that they did.

Ujima’s vision statement says:  

“We operate as a collective membership organization made up of actors, theatre technicians, theatre arts administrators, choreographers, playwrights, teachers, musicians and vocalists. All work is selected or designed to exploit Ujima’s unique ability to work together, take responsibility for each other, and create that special magic which flows from love and dedication to the work, the collective and the audience. Ujima Company Inc. intends to educate as well as to entertain through work which is reflective of its responsibility and its caring for its community. Ujima is dedicated to social justice – the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled including the rights to life and liberty; freedom of expression; equality before the law; economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, the right to health, and the right to education."

The Challenger Community News describes Hill's priorities with Ujima as: "

• Producing and performing theatre that reflects the lives of African Americans, people of color, and marginalized communities
• Providing employment opportunities for artists,
• Presenting the work of new artists and performing arts groups,
• Providing young people with experiential training in theatre, and
• Serving as a resource to support positive values necessary for the development of the beloved community." [2]

Throughout her career, Hill was known for various performances ranging from stage, feature films, television, and voice-overs. Hill wrote multiple plays for Ujima and other venues. Her best known play, “Yalla Bitch!” was performed as part of the first International Women Playwrights Conference in 1986. “YB” originated as a poetry book with the same name, the last edition of which was fully created and printed by Hill in Buffalo.

Lorna Hill lived her activism and passion for youth empowerment in every aspect of her life. She was active as a role model in public schools, consultant for community agencies, and a guest speaker for organizations whose agendas include women’s issues, arts and culture, children’s rights, cultural competence, non-violence and building a beloved community. 

Hill was a teacher and teaching artist. Frm 2008 - 2014, she taught Theater Arts at the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. She participated in writing workshops for young people, taught acting classes, and provided training for teachers to use culture as an academic resource. She was a powerful and focused acting coach; generations of Buffalo’s actors and performers credit her tutelage to their development. She was known for creating safer spaces for youth to develop themselves creatively, where they could focus and find direction through art. 

From 2006 - 2008, Hill was Producer of the “UNCROWNED QUEENS: VOICES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN”, a one-hour radio program on WNED which consisted of three portraits of African American women community builders. [3]

In 2017, Lorna Hill was instrumental in the founding of Frontline Arts Buffalo, or FAB. FAB grew out of the Crossroads Collective project, under Lorna's direction.

“Frontline Arts Buffalo seeks to support frontline arts and cultural organizations in Buffalo in our transition from conditions of precarity to viability. We are a collaboration among artists, arts administrators, engaged citizens, justice advocates, and policy researchers.

We want to call attention to the work that frontline arts institutions have done in the past and continue to do today. We maintain communities, contribute to society, and create culture, often with very limited resources and public recognition.

We want to engage the public in conversations about how to support these organizations and advocate for the importance of funding them in an equitable and sustainable way.” [4]

On June 25, 2020 Congressman Brian Higgans read the following speech, “Honoring the Life and Legacy of Lorna C. Hill on her 70th Birthday”: 

“I rise today to recognize the life and accomplishments of Lorna C. Hill, who is the founder of Ujima Theatre Co. in Buffalo, NY and has been a leader in the Western New York community for many decades.

Ms. Hill has broken all types of barriers throughout her life. She was the first woman accepted into Dartmouth College, graduating in 1973. For this accomplishment, Ms. Hill has been honored by the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association and the Office of the Dean of the College with a celebration in her name. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Hill pursued her M.A. in Theatre at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978.

In 1978, Ms. Hill founded the Ujima Theatre Company currently located on the West Side of Buffalo. Through the years, Ujima has been a center for cultural acceptance, justice, and racial equality, as well as a hub for artistic vision, especially within the African American community. Ms. Hill continued her career in theatre and the arts as a poet, playwright, and performing on stage, in commercials, and in television.

While operating Ujima Theatre Co., Ms. Hill continued to share her artistic and theatrical talents at the Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. As a dedicated public school teacher from 2008 to 2015, Ms. Hill touched the lives of her many students. Her passion for the art of storytelling fused perfectly with her role as an educator.

For her entire adult life, Ms. Hill fought for the rights of women and people of color. Ms. Hill is looked up to by many for her entrepreneurial spirit, service to Western New York, and dedication to cultural theatre and the arts. As such, she has been honored and awarded for her work by a multitude of local organizations including Buffalo Business First, Community Action Organization of Erie County, Erie County Chapter of the Links, YWCA, YMCA, Grass Roots, Inc., Zonta Club, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Artvoice, Arts Council, National Organization for Women, National conference for Community and Justice, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Buffalo Urban League, Inc., The Women for Human Rights and Dignity Inc., and Langston Hughes Institute.

Ms. Hill's most cherished accomplishment is raising two children, Amilcar Cabral and Zoë Viola, as a single head of household.”

Lorna Hill’s impact will be felt on the generations of artists who were supported and energized because of her. In June of 2020, Lorna’s community organized an online performance to celebrate her life. The performance of so many incredible artists who were forever changed because of her influence can be viewed here.  

On June 29, Lorna C. Hill passed away, surrounded by family and friends.

You can listen to her final interview with Theater critic Anthony Chase here.

Other resources about Lorna C. Hill: 

https://foodforthespirit.org/2018/06/06/who-is-lorna-c-hill/

https://www.uncrownedcommunitybuilders.com/person/lorna-c-hill

[1]  About, Ujima Website. https://www.ujimacoinc.org/about

[2] https://thechallengernews.com/2020/06/lifting-lorna-home/[2]

[3] http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2006/10/8188.html 

[4]http://f-a-b.net/about/

[5] https://www.theatertalkbuffalo.com/post/congressional-praise-for-lorna-c-hill