Playwrights Walk plaque at Railroad Park to honor Lorraine Hansberry, who wrote ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ and pay tribute to those who died at the hands of police and were remembered in the park’s T-shirt memorial

By Peter Finkle for Ashland.News

“One cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know or react to the miseries which afflict this world.”

— Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)

You are invited to the unveiling of a new Playwrights Walk plaque, with Lorraine Hansberry’s quote above, at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 22, at Railroad Park in Ashland. Come celebrate the plaque dedication with guest speakers in honor of Juneteenth. The event will take place at the intersection of A Street and Seventh Street.

Lorraine Hansberry, ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and OSF

“As a resident of Ashland, not wearing any of my ‘committee hats,’ I hope for our community to feel welcoming and belonging to all people. I like the way this plaque connects with our Shakespeare Festival and the plays we love so much. In fact, OSF is performing “A Raisin in the Sun” next year.” — Cassie Preskenis, chair of the Public Arts Advisory Committee

Lorraine Hansberry was the first black female playwright to have a drama performed on Broadway: “A Raisin in the Sun.” She spoke the words on the plaque at the First Conference of Negro Writers in New York City a few days before the play’s March 1959 opening on Broadway. Preskenis described one of many ways Ashland’s Playwrights Walk plaque connects with the city’s past, present and future. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival recently announced that it will stage “A Raisin in the Sun” during the 2026 season.

Say Their Names memorial

“This is a commemoration of the fact that the Say Their Names memorial happened, that people came together to create that in the first place.” — Micah BlackLight, artist

This is the second of many Playwrights Walk plaques to be installed around Ashland. The quote and artwork on this plaque have a social justice theme, which relates to the Say Their Names memorial that was in Railroad Park for about four years.

Say Their Names was a community-created memorial in the form of T-shirts placed on the fence along the railroad tracks at Railroad Park. The shirts were put up after George Floyd was killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis in May 2020, a murder that was captured on videotape and shocked the country. The T-shirts bore names of Black and brown men, women and children, many of them killed by police during the past century.

Gina DuQuenne, a Black woman and City Council member, spoke of the first time she saw the memorial: “The next morning, I went and there they were, and that was one of the proudest moments I have experienced living here in Ashland.” She was deeply moved that local residents would create a memorial to Black lives ended due to racial injustice in our country.

Months later, in November 2020, Ashland community members had an additional shock when a Black man, 19-year-old Aidan Ellison of Ashland, was shot and killed by a white man in the parking lot of the Stratford Inn. His name and likeness joined the others on the memorial at that time.

New Playwrights Walk plaque

“I am enthusiastic for many reasons about this plaque being where it is, when it is, and what it represents. When I think about Railroad Park, I think about the beginning of Say Their Names memorial, and then how many times that was torn down.” — Gina DuQuenne, City councilor

Sadly, the memorial T-shirts were vandalized — ripped, damaged or completely torn down — five times. Gina went on to say that she saw the resilience of the people of Ashland, as they came together and replaced the memorial each time it was vandalized, even before the sun went down the next day.

Artists Micah BlackLight and Jack Langford

“It’s about brother and sisterhood. It’s about caring and empathy.” — Micah BlackLight, artist

Local artist Micah BlackLight based the plaque artwork on faces of people of color, “hearkening back to the fact that at the basis, this is about human lives. It’s about brother and sisterhood. It’s about caring and empathy. When we see stats, when we see names, when we see lists of people who are no longer with us — they’re not just names, they’re not just stats, they are actual lives that aren’t with us anymore!”

That is why the design includes a few names of individual people who have been killed, to bring out the fact that this is personal. The Say Their Names T-shirt memorial recognized individual Black and brown lives, and the plaque refers specifically to that.

Jack Langford is a local sculptor who has extensive experience with bronze casting. He is making the Playwrights Walk bronze plaques from each artist’s design.

Ashland history and social justice

“The location creates ties between Ashland’s early history and its recent history, shining a light on ongoing issues of social justice.” — Susan MacCracken Jain, on the steering committee of the Playwrights Walk project

I walked with Emily Simon to the site on A Street where the plaque will be installed. A member of Ashland’s Social Equity & Racial Justice Advisory Committee, Emily was one of many volunteers who worked passionately to bring the new public artwork into being. She pointed out how the location connects historical Ashland with our town today, a theme Susan MacCracken Jain also emphasized to me.

Just about 50 feet from the Lorraine Hansberry quote is a bronze plaque about Ashland’s railroad station, which transformed the town in the late 1800s. Nearby in Railroad Park is the large Golden Connections sculpture, which remembers Ashland’s 1890s economic boom and equally highlights a social justice theme. Golden Connections honors the thousands of Chinese railroad workers who built the tracks, bridges and tunnels over the Siskiyou Mountains and into Ashland between 1884 and 1887. Inscribed on the sculpture are these words: “In honor of the Chinese men who laid these tracks despite discrimination and without recognition. Today, with regret, we offer our belated gratitude.”

Emily helped me see that the Lorraine Hansberry quote links our town’s early history, our recent history of the now-gone Say Their Names memorial, and our community values. Here is the quote again: “One cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know or react to the miseries that afflict this world.”

Community collaboration

Creating and installing this public art plaque is a story of community-led action, and of collaboration among artists, students and local organizations. Supporting organizations include Ashland’s Social Equity & Racial Justice Advisory Committee, Public Arts Advisory Committee and Ashland Playwrights Walk sponsors: Barry and Kathryn Thalden, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce and the city of Ashland.

Emily Simon, who has been active in community activities for many years, said it is rare to have so much collaboration on a community project. She added, “You really should credit the city of Ashland for giving us the money for this plaque ($4,500 plus the installation cost). Everyone on the city of Ashland staff, particularly (Community Development Director) Brandon Goldman, has been very, very helpful in making this happen.”

A future memorial for social justice

Social justice is an important value for the community of Ashland. Another, much larger, public artwork is also being created, both as a memorial for Black lives lost to racial injustice and as a vision for Ashland as a welcoming, diverse community. Fundraising is currently in process for the Micah BlackLight-designed sculpture called “Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Our Call.”

About the Playwrights Walk plaques

“We already have another 14 Playwrights Walk plaques in process.” — Ken Engelund, on the steering committee of the Playwrights Walk project

The Playwrights Walk plaques are a series of bronze artworks being installed throughout Ashland to celebrate the city’s rich theater culture. Initiated by community members and supported by local institutions, the project aims to honor playwrights and significant cultural figures. Each plaque features a quote from the honoree, serving as a lasting tribute to their contributions to the arts and society. The goal is to have 100 Playwrights Walk plaques installed by 2035, the 100th anniversary of OSF.

Peter Finkle leads Ashland walking tours. See WalkAshland.com to learn about his 11 tours or to request a private tour for your group or family.

Related story: Ashland comes together for permanent ‘Say Their Names’ plaque at Railroad Park (June 24, 2025)