Harlem Arts Venues To Honor Black Women Civil Rights, Arts Icons

HARLEM, NY — Two performing arts organizations in Harlem are partnering to host an arts series honoring black women pioneers from the civil rights and black arts movements in March.

Harlem Stage, the National Black Theatre will present the "Mothers of the Movements" arts series at their respective venues on Friday, March 9 and Monday, March 12, according to a press release. The two-part series will be hosted in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival "The ‘60s: The Years that Changed America."

"Mothers of the Movements is a time for us to acknowledge the rich and dynamic legacy we all are beneficiaries of because brave Black women stood up to give birth through their brilliance an alternative reality where we could know liberation," Jonathan McCrory, director of theater arts programming at the National Black Theatre, said in a statement.

The first part of the series will take place March 9 at Harlem Stage on Convent Ave. near West 135th Street. The performance will be a re-imagining of Max Roach's album, "We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite," led by Marc Cary. The event will feature guest performances by artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Reggie Workman, Sameer Gupta and Edmar Colón, according to a press release.

The National Black Theatre on Fifth Avenue between West 125th and 126th streets will present "The Black Woman: She Does Exist," on March 12. The event will feature new works by artists such as Mfoniso Udofia, Chisa Hutchinson and Ebony Noelle Golden inspired by the writings of activists Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Ella Baker and the women of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Photo courtesy Andre Padayhag/Harlem Stage