MEET THE TEAM

HISTORY

During the 1960s in Harlem the Black Arts Movement was started by Amiri Baraka. It would last a mere 10 years, but the movement set into motion the most important black cultural endeavor since the Harlem Renaissance. Like that shining moment of creative expression, the Black Arts Movement would define Black America on its own terms. It would prove to be the aesthetic equivalent of Black Nationalism and put its proponents in a position to control the narrative of our own identities, traditions, and aspirations. It would also prove to be economically viable, ultimately resulting in Hollywood’s Blaxploitation films that saved the American film industry in the 70s. For a time, Chicago would become the epicenter of the Movement, but it also took root in Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, Memphis, Houston, and other cities across the country. In 1968 in Chicago, Val Gray Ward founded Kuumba Theater. A year later, Abena Joan Brown and Okoro Harold Johnson initiated ETA (Ebony Talent Agency) which would become a vibrant theater company and arts organization. In the 1980s, an offshoot of XBAG (Experimental Black Actors Group) called the Chicago Theater Company also rose to prominence on the South Side of Chicago. This company, too, was spearheaded by Okoro Harold Johnson, and provided many talented actors an opportunity to flex their artistic muscles in an otherwise limited environment for the great wealth of talented black artists. On the North Side, Jackie Taylor—an accomplished and successful actor/writer/director/ educator and producer, founded the Black Ensemble Theatre. After 40 years, BET remains a thriving institution. Further north still, Gloria Bond Clunie founded the Fleetwood Jourdain Theater in Evanston, Illinois in 1979.

What became clear is that when led by strong personalities with great willpower and endurance, these organizations attracted great support from audiences, institutions, and governmental organizations on the federal, state, and municipal levels. But in the cases where the singular personalities who led these movements retired or transitioned, the organizations faltered significantly or ceased to be altogether. Indeed, there is no consistently producing cultural facility for the performing arts on the South Side of Chicago that speaks to the societal needs of the black community. It seems to us that we have an opportunity to provide a sanctuary for gifted artists dedicated to preserving and advancing our legacy by creating a space that is efficiently realized and programmed for the celebration of the Black Experience, as represented through the living arts. Hence, the Lillian Marcie Center for the Performing Arts.

Whereas in the past individuals or entities with a narrow focus, or at best parochial agendas (such as self-contained theater companies, dance troupes, etc.) struggled to present consistent and viable programming, our method will be to provide venues to multiple companies across a wide range of disciplines. These disciplines will include theater, film, dance, oratory, jazz and classical music, opera, and performance art. The benefit is that we will be able to populate the venue with almost constant activity. To help ensure our viability, we will work in collaboration with the African American Museum of the Performing Arts.