Gather your friends, put on your jewels, and join the editors of WV Living for a lively discussion of the life of Doris Payne. We’ll watch segments of the documentary The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne and enjoy gem-themed small bites and desserts that will rock your tastebuds. Your in-person registration fee includes a copy of Diamond Doris food, and a special favor to commemorate the evening.

Virtual Event—We will email you a link to join the discussion virtually on Zoom. Live streaming begins at 6:30.

Our first book is Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief. Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Doris Payne was told her dreams were unattainable for poor Black girls like her. After being thrown out of a jewelry store when a white person arrived, Doris used magic tricks to shoplift jewelry from local stores. Over the course of six decades, she became a world-class jewel thief, daringly pulling off numerous diamond robberies and then fencing the stolen gems to Hollywood celebrities. Doris’ criminal exploits went unsolved well into the 1970s, when she was arrested after stealing a diamond ring in Monte Carlo that was valued at more than half a million dollars. Today, at 87, Doris, lives in Atlanta, and her story is being made into a motion picture starring Tessa Thompson. She sums up her adventurous career best: “It beat being a teacher or a maid.”