Lundeana Marie Thomas - Barbara Ann Teer and the National Black Theatre: Transformational Forces in Harlem

STUDIES IN

edited by
GRAHAM RUSSELL HODGES
COLGATE UNIVERSITY

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer
(Photograph by Bernard Fairclough)

BARBARA ANN TEER AND THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE

TRANSFORMATIONAL FORCES IN HARLEM

LUNDEANA MARIE THOMAS

First published 1997 Garland Publishing, Inc.

Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Copyright 1997 Lundeana Marie Thomas

ISBN: 9780815329206 (hbk)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thomas, Lundeana Marie, 1949
Barbara Ann Teer and the National Black Theatre: transformational forces in Harlem / Lundeana Marie Thomas.
p. cm. (Studies in African American history and culture)
Revision of the authors thesis (Ph. D.)University of Michigan, 1993.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8153-2920-2 (alk. paper)
1. National Black Theatre (New York, N.Y.)History.
2. TheaterNew York (State)New YorkHistory20th
century. 3. Afro-American theaterNew York (State)New
YorkHistory20th century. 4. Teer, Barbara Ann. I. Title.
II. Series.
PN2297.N28T56 1997

792.0899607471dc21 9716332

For nearly thirty years the National Black Theatre and the name of its founder, Barbara Ann Teer, have been spoken in the same breath. Unknown to most readers, however, are the intimate details of how Teer, an accomplished actress, dancer, author, educator and producer became disillusioned with The Great White way, decided to go back home to Harlem, to create a soul theatre, and to change the perception of American theatre, especially Black Theatre. The pieces of this fascinating story finally come together in this volume. The saga begins with a historical overview of carefully chosen facts that prepares us for the coming of Teer. The reader is then given a penetrating look at Teers early background, her training and experiences in the American theatre of the 1950s and 60s. Then a sensitive and profusely documented tour of Teers move back home to Harlem begins. The evolution of her philosophy, theories, practices and aspirations unfolds in the pages that follow. We come to understand that the theatre Teer sought to create in 1968 was not militant; the transformation she sought was spiritual, not social. The revolution she envisioned would take place in the hearts and minds of Blacks. Teers continuing search for this spiritual truth in the Yoruba rituals of Nigeria, in the Pentecostal Church and in the Harlem community helps us to grasp the driving spirit or soul, if you will, of this remarkable woman. The development of The National Black Theatre is revealed simultaneously. The edifice that occupies a block on 125th Street, Teers pragmatic place for shedding the ills of cultural hegemony, stands today as a monument to her continuing efforts to transform a community.

Thomas close relationship; with Teer and NBT, her first-hand acquaintance with Pentecostalism, her own beliefs in the values of a pluralistic society and of the use of positive energy to effect change, all add credibility to the writing. Clearly, Teers determination to build NBT on what might be, what is possible, whats missing and what can be provided is heard here by the writer. It is the underpinning of both Teers and Thomas efforts and provides us with a substantial base on which to view Teer as a builder of the community and of the quintessential black theatre of Harlem.

Dr. Winona L. Fletcher
Indiana University
Professor Emeritus
Theatre and Drama and Afro-American Studies

I wish to thank Barbara Ann Teer for having the vision, courage, fortitude, and determination to create a National Black Theatre. Many thanks to the National Black Theatre family who nurtured it during its years of growth and were so helpful in supplying materials for the completion of this work. They include: Abisola, Adunni, Ade, Nabii, Tunde, Reena, and Denyse.

I am grateful to my family and friends for their patience, love, and understanding during the preparation of this manuscript. This especially includes: Mr. LeeRoy and Rev. Mercy Dea Thomas, John Mark, LeeRoy, Edmond Ward, Anne Fannin, Julius P. Lundy, Sr., Renee Simmons, Robin Means-Coleman, and Lorna Littleway.

I humbly thank Rev. Katie Nugent and Sis. Virginia Blueford who always include me in their prayers. A special homage to my ancestors: Grandmother, Elizabeth Gilford; Great-Aunt, Aunt Willie Bee; Special Friend, Estelle Revish, and Aunt Viv,Vivian Robinson, thanks for your love and guidance.

I must gratefully acknowledge the members of Saint Matthew Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas. Thank you for your prayers, songs, and testimonies of encouragement.

A special thanks to Dr. Winona L. Fletcher for her contribution to this work and so many other gifts. God knows I could not have completed this or other projects without her assistance, wisdom, and love.

I wish to thank Dr. Leigh Woods of the University of Michigan for his tutelage and Dr. Thomas Copeland of Youngstown State University, whose expertise and support were invaluable. Thanks also to Gwendolyn Ricks-Spencer who first acquainted me with the National Black Theatre and to Dr. Mark Pilkinton who encouraged me to research it further.

To those who helped with this manuscripta big Thanks to Darnell L. Johnson, Bernard Thomas, MahGee Foster, David Baugh, and The University of Louisville. Many thanks to those who answered my questionnaires and allowed themselves to be interviewed including Woodie King, Jr., Vivian Robinson, James Pringle, James V. Hatch, and Amiri Baraka.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Graham Hodges and Garland Publishing for the African American History and Culture Series. Kudos to my Editor, Kristi Long, and computer specialist, Chuck Bartelt, for their help and special assistance.

And more than all I thank GOD.

In 1965 noted African-American1 poet and playwright Langston Hughes perceived a very great need for a serious theatre in the Harlem Community a theatre in which the drama and the folk arts of the Negro people might be presented before the very audiences out of whom this drama is born.2 He was not the first to recognize this need. According to James Hatch,

In 1926, W. E. B. DuBois supervised the formation of the Krigwas, a theatre that was to produce plays