Dee's theatrical contributions have been acknowledged through her Drama Desk and Obie awards, and an Emmy Award nomination for her role in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generation. As Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Cordelia in King Lear, she became, in 1965, the first African American woman to play major parts in the American Shakespeare Festival. a southern comedy which Dee and her husband Ossie Davis wrote and co-starred in together, in which they reprised their roles for the 1963 film adaptation. Ruby Ann Wallace Dee actor and writer appeared in more than 20 films including 1988's DO THE RIGHT THING and her notable stage appearances included roles in A Raisin in the Sun (later reprising the role in the 1961 film), Athol Fugard's Boesman and Lena, and Purlie Victorious. Arroyo was awarded the nation's highest artistic award: The Kennedy Center Honor. In 2003, she established the Martina Arroyo Foundation in New York City, offering emerging young artists a running start with a structured curriculum, detailed musical and dramatic work on preparing a role and a chance to sing. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002. She is a trustee emerita of the Hunter College Foundation, her alma mater. She later also joined the boards of Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the Collegiate Chorale. Martina was appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1976 to the NEA's National Council on the Arts. Born and raised in Harlem, Martina Arroyo graced opera's finest halls giving extraordinary performances throughout the world: the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, La Scala in Milan, Paris Opera, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden as well as the great concert halls from Salzburg and Berlin and in her hometown of New York.

Hunter girls high school