Independent Lens
Ratified
Ratified brings to life the push to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution through the legal battle in Virginia—the final state needed to ratify the amendment.
The Black Theatre Project
From New York to Los Angeles, Black Theatre has become an outlet for a community’s celebration of itself because Black Theatre is American theatre.
- Funding Initiative
- Diversity Development Fund
Producer/Director
Rome Neal
Rome Kyn Neal is a producer and video journalist. As lead producer at the digital CBS News platform, CBS News won the Murrow and Eppy Awards for best network and TV news site. At the New York Post, Rome Kyn helped win the publication's first New York Emmy Award and the New York Association of Black Journalists’ Online Spot/General News Award.
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The Film
“Black Theatre” is not merely the art of Black actors having a presence on the stage and performing for an audience. Black Theatre is a haven for ideas and a source of mental healing for the Black community from the scars of systematic oppression, economic inequality, and discrimination in America through unfiltered forms of expression. Born out of the 1960s, it has had a transformative impact on the Black community and on the nation’s cultural and political landscape by unapologetically addressing Black issues and the politics of the nation. However, it is an often-absent part of the mainstream American narrative due to lack of representation in institutes, as well as the general public’s lack of familiarity with its contributions to society - even though acclaimed actors like Denzel Washington and Viola Davis publicly credit Black Theatre for giving them their career starts and sharpening their storytelling skills.
Black Theatre Project examines the obstacles faced by the Black theatrical creative community in achieving independence and freedom of expression. From New York to Los Angeles - and everywhere in between - it has become an outlet for a community’s celebration of itself because Black Theatre is American theatre.
