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New Work, New Voices, New Pathways Forward… Together!

NBT is a commissioning and producing theatrical home for Black artists that generates catalytic experiences to uplift the African American cultural identity by amplifying intersectional stories of Black life.

Our History

Founded in 1968 by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, an award-winning performer, director, visionary entrepreneur, and champion of the Black Arts Movement, NBT has a ground-breaking legacy: as the country’s first revenue-generating Black art complex, the longest continually run Black theater in New York City, and one of the oldest theaters founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation. Since its founding, NBT has invested over $10 million in 350+ original works by Black artists and garnered numerous accolades, including NYTimes Critics Picks, Obie Awards, Lortel Awards, a TONY award, and an EMMY nomination. NBT has also been included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

More than five decades later, NBT’s core mission remains the same. Today, NBT further stretches that mission to educate, enrich, entertain, empower, and inform national consciousness around social justice issues that impact our country. In 2023, NBT made Broadway history and its debut with the transfer and co-production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play FAT HAM by James Ijames, making it the third Black theatre company in the history of ‘The Great White Way’ to ever do so. The following season, NBT won its first Tony Award for its revival of Purlie Victorious.

Holding tight to the founding principles of ownership, self-determination, and human transformation, NBT continues to support Black artists and surpass new milestones with over 350 original theatre works, including an associate partnership with  National Black Theatre of Sweden. The work and accomplishments of National Black Theatre have solidified its position at the leading edge of theatre development, production, and innovation nationwide. National Black Theatre also leverages its position and voice to advocate for sector-wide changes, local legislative policy, and funding needs. NBT is an AEA Equity house and a member of Theatre Communications Group, A.R.T./New York, Harlem Arts Alliance, and the Coalition of Theatres of Color.

Under the current leadership of Chief Executive Officer, Sade Lythcott, daughter of NBT’s founder, and Executive Artistic Director, Jonathan McCrory, NBT remains anchored in the Liberationist spirit of the past, tapped into the beating pulse of the present and serves as a catalyzing force for our collective creative future.

Our Theory of Change

Black Liberation + Art + Placemaking =
(The Conditions for) Human Transformation

Black Liberation

We believe that investing in the unfettered voices of Black artists helps create pathways of liberation 
for all.

+ Art

We believe in the power of art and storytelling as paramount to moving our people, communities, and country forward.

+ Placemaking 


We believe that providing a home 
that centers the Black experience helps to create a connected human experience, foster belonging, and heal generational wounds.

= NBT's Theory of Change is our invitation to both our community of artists and diverse audiences alike to be TRANSFORMED.


Our programs exemplify our commitment to creating 
a courageous space for audacious creativity:


A hub for the community to celebrate our culture, experience their highest vibration, and collectively heal through unapologetic Black storytelling. By centering the Black experience, we strive to reclaim our community’s focus and agency in shaping our narratives, freeing artists and audiences alike from historical misconceptions and stereotypical limitations.

National Impact

Since 2018, NBT Beyond Walls has allowed us to work outside the confines of our formal space in Harlem, sharing our pedagogy and offerings with various organizations, institutions, and wider audiences to help create a deeper impact and broaden our contribution to communities both near and far…citywide, nationwide, and worldwide.

These vital partnerships allow NBT to continue the legacy of Dr. Teer’s commitment to our Theory of Change , and her approach: to use theatre as an entry point for Black artists to come into a relationship with their highest self, the audience to harness their agency as changemakers as they wrestle with their unconscious bias and as a result, this awakening the two would take transformative actions around the healing of ourselves, communities and national consciousness. 50 years later NBT finds itself more dedicated than ever to the vision of Dr. Teer and the reimagining of what Harlem, America and indeed the world might look like when the undergirding of every program is rooted in the healing principle of unrelenting love and liberation.

the quest | HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY FROM 1970 - 1981