In Michael S. Eddy’s interview with Kathy A. Perkins for PLSN, Perkins credited LD Shirley Prendergast for her help in launching Perkin’s career in lighting. “She was the first Black woman to light on Broadway. When I was at Howard University a lot of people would visit from New York and say, ‘Oh, you need to meet Shirley when you go to New York.’ And then I met her, and she took me under her wing because no white designers would take me on,” even some who had complimented her on her knowledge and skills. “They would not hire me. They were very clear about it.”
