Sarah Webster Fabio (January 20, 1928 – November 7, 1979) was an American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
,
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
and
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
.
Early life and education
Sarah Webster was born in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
to Thomas Webster and Mayme Louise Storey Webster.
Showing an interest in poetry, she began writing as a high school student. After graduating from high school at 15, Webster was accepted to
Spelman College
Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...
, where she majored in English and history.
In 1945, she returned to Nashville, Tennessee where she graduated from
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
.
There she studied poetry under
Arna Bontemps
Arna Wendell Bontemps ( ) (October 13, 1902 – June 4, 1973) was an American poet, novelist and librarian, and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance.
Early life
Bontemps was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, into a Louisiana Creole family. His a ...
. She then married Cyril Fabio, a dental student who later graduated from the historically Black
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College is a private historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first me ...
. She then changed her surname to Fabio.
Upon her husband's graduation from dental school, he enlisted in the military, which greatly delayed Fabio's graduate education. She had 3 children (born 1947, 1948 and in 1949) while her husband was stationed in various locations across America. When they were stationed in Nashville, Fabio enrolled in graduate school at the
Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College.
When her husband was deployed to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
Fabio's studies were delayed yet again. During her time in Germany she had another child, born in 1954, her fourth and finally, when they moved back to the Wichita, Kansas US the fifth child, born in 1956. While in Kansas, she took graduate English classes at
Wichita State University
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
.
Bay Area higher education and the Black Arts Movement
In 1963 Fabio attended
San Francisco State College
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
, where she earned her
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
Language Arts
Language arts (also known as English language arts or ELA) is the study and improvement of the arts of language. Traditionally, the primary divisions in language arts are literature and language, where language in this case refers to both lingu ...
(with a focus on poetry). She graduated in 1965, on the same day her eldest graduated from high school. From 1965 to 1968 she taught at
Merritt College
Merritt College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Merritt, like the other three campuses of the Peralta Community College District, is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college e ...
in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Merritt College was known as a center of Black activist activity during the
Civil Rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
era. Students at the time included
Maulana Karenga
Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga (born Ronald McKinley Everett, July 14, 1941), previously known as Ron Karenga, is an American activist, author, and professor of Africana studies, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American holi ...
,
Bobby Seale
Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
and
Huey Newton
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966.
Under Newton's leadership ...
.
Fabio is credited with helping to introduce the
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...
to Bay Area colleges. Following her tenure at Merritt College, she held positions at
California College of Arts and Crafts
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
and the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
between 1968 and 1971.
At both of those institutions she is credited with helping to establish the first Black studies departments.
Poetry
Fabio's time at Merritt College enabled Fabio to expand upon her poetry, combining western styles with Black narrative and realism. She read her poetry at the
First World Festival of Negro Art in
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, in 1966. Upon her return, she began lecturing at the . There, she worked to create their first
Black Studies department.
She wrote several collections including poetry and prose. Fabio also performed poetic recordings (four albums in 1972 under ''
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
History
The Folkways Records & Service ...
''). Her records, and the entire Folkways collection, are found in the "Smithsonian Folkway" collection online. She published an anthology in 1966. Her seven-volume series ''Rainbow Signs'' is considered one of her most impressive works.
Notable works
*''Saga of a Black Man'' (1968)
*''Mirror, a Soul'' (1969)
*''Black Talk: Shield and Sword'' (1973)
*''Dark Debut: Three Black Women Coming'' (1966)
*''Return of Margaret Walker'' (1966)
*''Double Dozens: An Anthology of Poets from Sterling Brown to Kali'' (1966)
*''No Crystal Stair: A Socio-Drama of the History of Black Women in the U.S.A.'' (1967)
*''Rainbow Signs'' (1973) the Seven Volume Series of poetry books (''Black Back, Back Black''; ''Boss Soul''; ''My Own Thing''; ''JuJus and Jubilees''; ''Together to the Tune of Coltrane''; ''Soul Aint Soul is''; and ''JuJus: Alchemy of the Blues'')
Later life and death
Fabio divorced her husband in 1972. She then accepted a faculty position at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
until 1974. While pursuing her PhD in American and African Studies at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
in 1976 and whilst teaching at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
she was diagnosed with
colon cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. Fabio spent her last two years with her oldest daughter born in 1949, and died at the age of 51 on November 7, 1979.
Legacy
Cheryl Fabio, Fabio's daughter produced the documentary film of Fabio's life and work ''Rainbow Black: Poet Sarah W. Fabio'' as her MA thesis in communications at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1976. In 2012, The Black Film Center at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
was awarded a preservation grant from the
National Film Preservation Foundation
The National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) is an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. Growing from a national planning effort led by the Library of Congress, the NFPF began op ...
to remaster and preserve the film.
See also
*''
The Nigger Bible'', book by Robert H. deCoy, which inspired Fabio's poem "Black Is"
References
External links
Statement of Sarah Fabio concerning integrity : as discussed in the integrity workshop of the CCAC Student-Faculty Institute, Nov. '69Sarah Fabio performing “Work It Out”, from her vinyl record Boss Soul: 12 Poems by Sarah Webster FabioSarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Justice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabio, Sarah Webster
African-American poets
African-American women writers
20th-century American women writers
American women poets
People from Nashville, Tennessee
Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco State University alumni
Fisk University alumni
Merritt College faculty
California College of the Arts faculty
1928 births
1979 deaths
Black Arts Movement writers
American women academics
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American writers