Dianne Kirksey

Dianne Kirksey was born in Eutaw, Alabama, United States, to Wiley Kirksey, a former school superintendent in Greene County, Alabama and Gladys Kirksey, an educator.[2] Kirksey was active in several local plays and productions as a child. As a student leader during the Civil Rights Movement, she led marches and protests through Greene County in support of the Voters' Rights Act. She graduated Carver High School in 1967.

Kirksey matriculated at the University of Alabama in the fall of 1967. As a freshman, she was the first Black student named "Bama Belle" and first Black member of the homecoming court.[3] She was a founding member of the UA African American Association (renamed the Black Student Union), the first Black woman to be an officer of the Associated Women's Students organization, and led the Institutional Racism Workshop at the UA International Women's Conference.[4][5] She graduated with a double major in Theater and English in 1973.

Since her graduation, she has been honored by the university for contributions to racial and gender equality, listed as one of the most important black alumni by AL.com.[6] In 2018, she was one of twenty Female Trailblazers celebrated at the UA 1893 Jubilee Dinner celebrating 125 years of women admitted to the University.[7]

Kirksey has been active in education, film, television and theater as a classroom teacher, director, and actress since 1973. She studied at the New York University Intensive Filmmaking Program under Thierry Pathe.[8] Recently, she has produced a short film, Sweet Dreams, Momma and a short documentary, Bama's Black Babies Are Dying, and was developing a series of TV and film projects.[9]

Her notable acting roles include portraying Cheryl in Ron Milner's Urban Transitions: Loose Blossoms opposite Chadwick Boseman, produced by Woodie King, Jr.[10] Kirksey has also earned roles in film and television, including Doctors, One Life to Live, Rich Kids, directed by Robert M. Young and The Marva Collins Story, starring Morgan Freeman and Cicely Tyson.

Kirksey has also served two terms on New York City's Community Board 8 on the Education Committee.

Kirksey died in New York on September 1, 2020.[11]

• Trailblazer, University of Alabama 1893 Jubilee Dinner, 2018
• Finalist, New York Television Festival Pitch Competition, 2017
• Honoree, Blackboard Awards, 2011
• Opening Doors, University of Alabama, 2003
• Fellow, Korea Institute, 2002
• Fellow, China Institute, 2001
• Invitee, Cannes Film Festival, 1987
• Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, Alabama State Militia, 1985