Mission

The National Black Theatre functions as a cultural and educational institution whose mission is to create an alternative learning envtionment for community-based artists. NBT offers programs for cultural enhancement, education and entertainment to ensure community development and economic empowerment.

What We Do

We provide much needed cultural arts services to the community including but not limited to theatrical performaces, musical performaces, workshops, lectures and symposia. We also have summer youth programs and we work closely with The Harlem Children's Zone to provide them much needed space for their after-school activities. We've been serving the community for over 43 years!!

We are currently working on a very exciting campaign that will help raise awareness and funds for NBT. The campaign is called Keep Soul Alive, a term coined by the late Dr. Barbara Ann Teer who founded NBT. Keep Soul Alive is all about the importance of keeping our community arts and cultural institutions, like NBT, thriving and serving the people. We have enlisted Blue State Digital, the team that ran the Obama for President campaign, to oversee Keep Soul Alive. They are building us an amazing site that will reach the masses and inspire them to take action to preserve NBT.

We are also in the final stages of producing a mini-documentary that will speak to our cause. Some of the people who are lending their passionate voices to Keep Soul Alive are Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Phylicia Rashad, Avery Brooks, Michael Williams of The Wire, Ruby Dee, Jeffrey Wright and many more.

NBT is committed to serve the people of Harlem and all of New York City for many generations to come!