M.A. (2002)
Actor, Writer, Activist, and Educator
Vinie began her acting career as a child actress in a production of Wisteria Trees directed by Joshua Logan on Broadway with Helen Hayes. Since then, she has been featured in over 5,000 performances on and off-Broadway, on television, and in films, as well as on the stages of theatre groups, universities, and other organizations around the world. Vini has appeared onstage with Mary Martin, Claude Rains, Ossie Davis, James Earl Jones, Louis Gossett, and Earle Hyman. An active member of The Dramatists Guild, Vinie has gained honors in radio, film and television with appearances on As The World Turns, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Presents, and The Hallmark Hall Of Fame. She also hosted More Than Half the World, a weekly two-hour radio show in New York City for three years. Her solo productions include a repertoire of eight different one-woman shows including, Rose McClendon: Harlem's Gift to Broadway, Sister! Sister!, A Child is Born, Daughters of the Sun, and Song of Lowino.
Vinie has been the recipient of various honors awards throughout her performing career including, the Eugene McDermott Award of the Council for the Arts (Massachusettes Institute of Technology, 2002), an Emmy nomination in 1996 for her narration of The Amistad Revolt, a Living Legend Award for a Lifetime of Excellence of in Theatre (National Black Theatre Festival, 1995), and the Paul Robeson Award from the Actors' Equity Association.
Vinie completed a B.A. in pre-law at NYU and received her M.A. in Performance Studies in 2002. She has been adjunct professor at St. Peter's College and Sarah Lawrence College, a lecturer at The New School for Social Research, and theater director at Franklin and Marshall College. Vinnie is the Permanent Representative for the Women's International Democratic Federation, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. She is also Chair Emeritus of the NGO Committee on Southern Africa. In 1990, the Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression gave Vinie their Human Rights Award and in 1992, the NYC Chapter of the National Organization for Women honored her with their Susan B Anthony Award.
