Her first play was written in 1951 titled One Is a Crowd about a black singer who seeks revenge on a white man who destroyed her family.

[4] From the 1930s to the late 1950s, Richards was a member and organizer with the Communist Party USA in Los Angeles after befriending artist Paul Robeson.

She is among the Black women who "actively participated in movements affiliated with the CPUSA" between 1917's Bolshevik Revolution and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 revelations.

[2][7][8] Notable movie appearances include The Amen Corner (1965), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), Hurry Sundown, The Great White Hope, Beloved and In the Heat of the Night.

She made numerous guest television appearances, including roles on Beauty and the Beast, The Bill Cosby Show, 227 (TV series), Sanford and Son, Benson, Designing Women, The Facts of Life, The Practice, Murder, She Wrote, The Big Valley and ER (as Dr. Peter Benton's mother.)

[9] She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Mrs. Mary Prentice, Sidney Poitier's mother in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.