Rob Penny
| Rob Penny | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Lee Penny August 6, 1941 |
| Died | March 16, 2003 (aged 61) |
| Occupation | Writer and academic |
| Ethnicity | African American |
| Citizenship |
 United States
|
| Genre | African American Drama |
| Spouse | Timau Betty Penny |
| Children | Johnny Penny, Robert Lee Penny Jr., and Kadumu Penny |
| Relatives | Roy Lee Penny Sr., Jefferson Davis Penny Jr., Ann Penny, and Betty Jean Penny |
Robert Lee "Rob" Penny (August 6, 1941 – March 16, 2003) was an African-American playwright, poet, social activist, and professor. Penny wrote more than 30 plays and 300 poems.
Penny was born in Opelika, Alabama, on August 6, 1941. He moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Hill District as a toddler, where he was raised. A 1957 graduate of Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Penny had childhood aspirations of joining the priesthood.
Penny was in the first cohort of faculty hired in 1969 by Jack Daniel, vice provost for Academic Affairs and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh. After Penny began teaching at the University of Pittsburgh as an associate professor in 1969 he then moved on to serve as chair of its Africana Studies Department from 1978 to 1984. Penny was also a founding member of the Africana Studies Department.
"In terms of his professionalism, he was as close as someone can get to being an unrecognized genius. He appeared to be a simple man, but was actually quite complex," Daniel said. "As a person, with his theatrical influence, he was genuinely in touch with the human side of all of us. He was thought-provoking, forever challenging, dedicated, sincere and warm, with a kind of stick-to-itiveness -- someone who always kept his eye on the prize."
Dennis Brutus described his former colleague "as a person who inspired his students. He was always encouraging and helpful. As a poet myself, I can say he also was a fine poet, in the black poetic tradition, who inspired others to write, especially through the Kuntu Writers Workshop. And he was a man who was an inspiration to young people in terms of his activism and community activities."
In 1968, he and his friend August Wilson, a fellow Pittsburgh poet and playwright, co-founded the Black Horizon Theater, which staged performances until the mid-1970s. Dr. Vernell A. Lillie founded the Kuntu Repertory Theatre in 1975 as a way of showcasing Penny's plays. Penny was the playwright-in-residence for the Kuntu Repertory Theatre. Today, the theatre continues to hold performances of Rob’s plays.
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