Biden Honors Bed Stuy Theater With National Medal

BED STUY, NY — President Joe Biden awarded a Bed Stuy theater with a national honor on Tuesday after a two year COVID-19 delay.

The Billie Holiday Theatre, located near Fulton Street and New York Ave, earned a National Medal of Arts in 2021, but only just this week received its medal from Biden at the White House. The theater was among 12 recipients including TV-giant Mindy Kaling, comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, singer Bruce Springsteen and designer Vera Wang.

"The Billie Holiday Theatre cultivates some of our Nation’s most renowned Black actors, writers, designers, and musicians and has expanded the reach of American artistic expression and achievement," the National Endowment for the Arts said in a news release.

Previous local winners have included the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Apollo Theater. The theater's executive director, Marjorie Moon, celebrated the win as affirmation of the institution's local legacy.

“This recognition by President Biden and the National Endowment for the Arts is a major affirmation of The Billie’s historic legacy as a stalwart for Black creativity and expression over the last 50 years," Moon said in a statement.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, many industry greats have taken The Billie's stage since 1972 including Debbie Allen, Samuel L. Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Bill Cobbs.

"My goal was to take The Billie to a place of growth from an ambitious community-led project into our nation’s premier hub for Black talent. To see our early vision come to fruition is one of my proudest moments. The Billie is the heart of Bed-Stuy and I am so thrilled that it is receiving the nation’s highest honor in the arts at the People’s House in Washington D.C.,” Moon said.

The theater, which was founded by the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, aims to be a bastion of Black artistic expression for the local and larger theater communities, according to its website. In 2020, the theater co-organized the city's first Black Lives Matter street art mural and spearheaded The Black Seed grant program to support Black theaters across the country.

"The Billie Holiday Theater has served as a bastion of Black art, creativity, and culture for more than 50 years. It has helped launch the careers of countless Black creatives who may not have received that opportunity elsewhere," said Laurie Cumbo, NYC's Commissioner of Cultural Affairs.