Kathya Alexander Explores Black Identity and Heritage in Story and Stage

Kathya Alexander’s life is a rich collection of stories shaped by history, heritage, and cultural memory. Born in Arkansas, the now-Seattle-based storyteller has spent decades using her talents as an author, playwright, and cultural historian to bring underrepresented stories to life. Her work draws deeply upon personal experience intertwined with historical events, bringing together themes of identity, activism, and how cultural memory influences the present day.

Through her recent book, Keep A’Livin’, and upcoming play revival, BLACK TO MY ROOTS: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart, Alexander invites readers and audiences alike to reflect on our shared experiences. I sat down with Alexander to talk about the book, the play, and her thoughts on how storytelling bridges from thought to action.

From Southern Roots to Seattle Storytelling

Alexander’s journey as a storyteller began in childhood. Born in Arkansas in the 1950s, she later moved to Illinois, where she completed high school and college. Her early days were filled with creative pursuits, and these experiences in storytelling would stay with her as she became an adult and had children. 

“I’ve been writing and telling stories for as long as I can remember,” said Alexander. “As a kid, I’d help my older sister make up plays for things we’d do around the neighborhood. Later, I wrote little plays for my kids to perform. I don’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t writing something.”

After moving to Seattle in 1999 to be closer to her son and grandkids, Alexander finally found the opportunity to share her work with larger audiences. She was connected to the African-American Writers’ Alliance and became a member of its community of writers. It was through this connection that she met director Tyrone Brown, who invited her to contribute to a play he was helping to produce, BLACK TO MY ROOTS, which focused on the relationship Black women have with their hair. This collaboration has lasted for decades, with Brown directing many of Alexander’s plays.

Many of the stories Alexander writes lean into personal experiences, her upbringing during the Civil Rights Movement, the relationship Black people have with their bodies, and how history looks back on a time that, for many, wasn’t that long ago. Her stories are influenced by the fearlessness of writers she reads for inspiration, like Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. She learned to have the courage to delve into complex subjects and challenge audiences to think critically through the work of these literary legends. 

“Ignoring history does not make it go away. So with my stories, I have to be really fearless and discuss things that are hard,” said Alexander.

Bending Genre and Cultivating Cultural Memory in the Book ‘Keep A’Livin’’

Through the eyes of a young Black girl, Mandy, Alexander’s new novel Keep A’Livin’ looks at the Civil Rights Movement from the lived experience of a child, starting with the Children’s Crusade in 1963 until the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

The book, described as historical fiction in verse, is written in a style that integrates the poetic rhythm that is naturally found in Southern Black dialect. This unique approach to writing a novel in verse occurred spontaneously as Alexander worked on the book. Writing Keep A’Livin’ took over 20 years, and the book underwent several changes as she worked to figure out how to tell this multigenerational story. One night, while encountering writer’s block, Alexander began reading a slave narrative written in dialect, and she says something clicked because it reminded her of the Black Southern dialect she had grown up around.

“When I started writing in that dialect, it just opened something up in me. And then, at some point, as I was reading the story back to myself, I realized that it rhymed,” said Alexander. “I resisted that, because who writes a book, a novel, in rhyme? But that’s the voice that kept coming to me.”

Set in a small Arkansas town, the book centers on one family’s multigenerational history. Based on Alexander’s own family history, it was initially inspired by a vision she had of a Native American ancestor who married into her Black side. Alexander employs a touch of magical realism by introducing an ancestral angel who comes to main character Mandy and other women in her lineage during moments of crisis. The use of this literary device allows the reader to experience the stories of multiple ancestors over time, giving them a sense of the interconnected histories within Black communities. 

For Alexander, Keep A’Livin’ is about the strength of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, the people and families in communities throughout the country who rallied and protested against oppression. 

“Black people changed the course of this nation,” said Alexander when talking about her own experiences growing up during the Civil Rights Movement. “I just want people to know that if they did it once, they can do it again.”

Exploring Identity Through Hair Stories

While Keep A’Livin’ examines the Civil Rights Movement through historical fiction, Alexander’s upcoming play BLACK TO MY ROOTS: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart shifts focus to the deeply personal journey Black women have with their hair. The 25th anniversary production of the groundbreaking play returns to the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute from Nov. 22 to 24.

Through a blend of storytelling that combines personal narratives, the play shows how hair is more than just a style; how it is a symbol of identity, pride, and even pain.

“Everybody has a hair story — Black or white, everybody’s got a hair story. But for Black people, it’s not only a hair story, it impacts so much of our lives,” Alexander said. “One of the reasons why I wanted to do the play again is because we did it first in 1999. We took it to Scotland to the Fringe First Festival, and won a Fringe First Award in 2002, and then we stopped doing it after that. But now, with the passage of the Crown Act … that’s huge. Twenty-five years later and they are still working to ensure these protections.”

The play’s scenes explore numerous topics, like mothers combing their daughters’ hair, the pressure to conform to beauty standards, and even the experience of hair loss due to alopecia. And each performance includes a post-show talk-back session where audience members get the chance to share their hair stories in a public forum. Alexander says the response is often powerful and recalls one talk-back where a mixed-race woman was moved to tears after seeing a part of the play that addressed the need to help white mothers learn to care for their Black children’s hair.

The Power of Stories to Inspire Change

To Alexander, storytelling is more than a way to entertain; it’s a powerful tool for education, activism, and advocacy. Keep A’Livin’ and BLACK TO MY ROOTS are just two of the many examples of how she uses her ability to connect experience to story to help educate others, especially those in younger generations, about the struggles and achievements of the past. Her storytelling honors the past while urging dialogue about how these issues still impact lives today.

Looking ahead, Alexander remains committed to using stories to inspire change that resonates across generations. She is currently working to rewrite an American classic play from the perspective of the Black servants who play minor roles in the original.

As she continues to write, educate, and advocate, Alexander’s voice serves to connect history with a path forward to what lies ahead.

Tickets for BLACK TO MY ROOTS: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart are available on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. 

Keep A’Livin’ can be purchased on Bookshop.org or by request from your local bookstore.