About Elizabeth Keckley
Elizabeth Hobbs
Keckley (1818–1907) was a former slave who became a successful seamstress,
civic activist, and author in Washington, DC. She was best known as the
personal modiste and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. She had moved to
Washington in 1860 after buying her freedom and that of her son in St. Louis.
She created an independent business in the capital based on clients who were
the wives of the government elite. Among them were Varina Davis, wife of
Jefferson Davis; and Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee. Her books
included Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty
Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, which was published in
1868.
About Adenrele Ojo
Adenrele Ojo is an actress, dancer, and audiobook narrator, winner of over a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2018. She made her on-screen debut in My Little Girl, starring Jennifer Lopez, and has since starred in several other films. She has also performed extensively with the Philadelphia Dance Company. As the daughter of John E. Allen, Jr., founder and artistic director of Freedom Theatre, the oldest African American theater in Pennsylvania, is no stranger to the stage. In 2010 she performed in the Fountain Theatre’s production of The Ballad of Emmett Till, which won the 2010 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Ensemble. Other plays include August Wilson’s Jitney and Freedom Theatre’s own Black Nativity, where she played Mary.