Jones, Carridder "Rita"
(born: Oct. 1, 1935 - died: May 8, 2020)Carridder Jones was born in South Carolina and lived in Indiana before moving to Kentucky.
A playwright and historian, Jones's research has included African American communities in Kentucky, especially the black hamlets in Lexington and Louisville. Her play, "Black Hamlets in the Kentucky Bluegrass," was a finalist in the New York Drama League's New Works Project in 2002. Another of her plays, "The Mark of Cain," was chosen by the University of Louisville's African-American theater program for the Second Annual Juneteenth Festival of New Works.
She has presented her research at conferences, programs, workshops, and in production. She is the co-founder and Director of Women Who Write.
In 2006, Jones received the Sallie Bingham Award. She is author of the 2009 book A Backward Glance.
For more see "Free Black Hamlets," Courier Journal (Louisville) News, 4/19/2004; and "Filmmakers hope to save Bluegrass freetowns," Lexington Herald Leader, 8/10/2003. See also her Added Papers, 1916-2016 at the Filson Historical Society and her obituary at legacy.com. and in the Courier Journal 5/13-17, 2020. And hear her 4/2017 oral history interview at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History (interview accession 2021oh0978_mcalk0005).
