Anne Cooke

Anne Cooke Reid (née Anna Margaret Cooke) was an American stage director and academic who founded and led theater departments at historically Black universities, including Howard University as its first chairwoman and Spelman College. She organized the Atlanta University Summer Theater in 1934, establishing the oldest continually operating summer theater and the first Black summer theater in the United States. Known as 'Queen Anne' to her students, she was a major figure in providing high-quality theater training during the mid-1900s.