Shades of Truth Theatre
337 W 138th St
New York, NY 10030

Winter 2019

Our History
Shades of Truth Theatre has been in existence for a quarter of a century and has worked under the auspices of the Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre. The theater principally stages educational and American historical narratives that have impacted the lives of people of color and others. Shades of Truth Theatre is a serious and vital American theater that tells the story of the struggles and triumphs of our people and our country’s history. The theater has signature productions that are quite well regarded and received, such as: Whistle in Mississippi: The Lynching of Emmett Till; The Meeting; Camp Logan; Rage, Resistance and Revelry; Harriet Tubman Herself; I, Barbara Jordan; and much more. Regularly, Shades of Truth Theatre has presented historical documentaries and panel discussions after both plays and films. These sessions and events are exciting and become a great way for our youth to learn about the history of our republic. 

Shades of Truth Theatre is asking for considerable contributions to help us through this season and help with the erection of the Black Wall Street Museum and Performing Arts Center. Gifts of contribution will go towards the education and formation of young lives through the arts. Your gifts will be acknowledged publicly in our theater programs and banners. We can have an aisle, a wing an entrance a rehearsal room, a video room, a front door and other naming rights and opportunities. Donors will have the opportunity to be presenters of our plays and other special events during our theater seasons. Too, contributors will have opportunities to sponsor primary, grammar, secondary and tertiary schools (colleges), girl and boy scout groups, Sunday school church groups, countless organizations, civic groups, senior groups, and organizations for veterans. A great and vital opportunity for civic-minded donors will be to underwrite the cost of having our plays staged for our often overlooked and marginalized citizens in juvenile and detention centers, homeless shelters, hospitals, jails and prisons.

 
Immediate, Short-term Goals:

• Public, private, charter and religious school students will attend our productions free of charge
• Defray the costs of complimentary admissions for primary, middle school, secondary school students
• Unemployed individuals as well as some senior citizens can also attend our productions .
• Printed programs, promotional flyers and other advertisements for our productions.
• Costs involved in distribution all promotional materials (posters, magnets, flyers, postcards) for our plays
• Fees (often confiscatory) in renting theater spaces within and without the city
• Fees for various theater space rentals (which can be costly).
• Costs for theater rehearsal spaces (which are always sorely needed)
• Truly, we need a permanent, real home for our theater
• Venues for our productions
• Electrical, audio and lighting equipment for our plays (instead of having to rent such items)
• Fees for the services of the videographer for our productions (these videos serve as learning and improving tools for our actors)
• Costumes for various theater productions (as the productions are often of a historical nature and require period costumes as well as chairs, furnishings and sets)
• Fees (small compensations) for our actors and theater personnel
• Transportation costs whenever productions are on the road and also bus and car fares for actors, theater personnel, interns, volunteers and assistants
• Incidental costs for permission to use copy written and other authorial materials
• Considerable fees attendant to the Inaugural Black Wall Street Theater and Music Festival that will occur 28 May through 2 June 2018. These costs will be for venues, artists, musicians, actors, advertising and much else. The festival will be open to the city and the world. We hope to make the festival free of charge for our youth and some of the other groups we support, and nominal fees for everyone else.

Longer Term Goals:

• Creation of the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center (BWSMEPAC). We plan to have this center ready by December 2022.
• Youth Dance Lessons at BWSMEPAC
• Youth Music Lessons at BWSMEPAC
• Youth Drama Lessons at BWSMEPAC
• An after-school and community center where arts activities will be in full bloom as well as concerns of the community. The above-mentioned center is sorely lacking not only in our community in New York but in countless other cities and towns. Said center will a place where youth can be in a safe, nurturing, and empowering environment as late as 10pm nightly.
• Goals: to perform in other locations such as: Washington, D.C; Virginia; Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and San Diego in California; Chicago; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco; Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Asmara, Eritrea; Kigali, Rwanda; Kolkata and New Delhi, India; Harare, Zimbabwe; Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; Kampala, Uganda; Johannesburg, and Cape Town, South Africa; London and Manchester, UK; Munich and Berlin, Germany; Edinburgh, Scotland; Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Christchurch and Auckland, New Zealand;  the Caribbean; Central America; South America and Canada.

 
The Black Wall Street Theater and Music Festival
The BWS Theater and Music Festival will be a series of arts events held during a week-long observation & celebration of Black achievement, including workshops on building and maintaining an economic floor for the black community. Historically, there were a number of black business districts such as in Oklahoma, Florida, and elsewhere that were burned down to the ground in the long period of catastrophic white supremacist activities (after the Reconstruction period through the early part of the 20th century).

The Black Wall Street Theater and Music Festival will require considerable financial resources to stage and to assist in our ongoing efforts to stage the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center which will celebrate the achievements of African-Americans throughout the republic's history (commencing in the 1607 Jamestown settlement or, by general acclamation, the 1619 arrival through the present day). The museum will pay tribute to the destruction of countless successful Black communities and, happily, the continuation of others that were established throughout the country from the mid to late 1800’s into the mid-20th centuries).

 
The Creation of the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center
We hope to have the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center erected by December 2022 in the village of Harlem and will be a learning center for the community, the city, and young people throughout the tri-state area.

This center will be a place for the youth to engage in the arts and for them have a place to go as a clear alternative to getting caught up in the snares of some of the sadder activities of inner city life. The center will serve as a much needed after-school space, and it will be a safe, emotionally supporting and caring environment for our youth. Our fervent hope and prayer is that the building that will become our Performing Arts Center will be given to us as a gift from some generous soul and/or from some other source (federal, state, city, landlord,  property owner or an organization). Said building will be open 7 days a week and available to the entire community and city.

Shades of Truth Theatre firmly believes in the transformational development of our youth and others through the arts. Therefore, we implore everyone (including organizations, corporations, companies, houses of worship, institutions, and all civic groups) who are able to make significant financial contributions of 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 40,000 or more. It will go a long way to our immediate goals of the Shades of Truth Theatre - and commence our path to achieving the long-term goals to create the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center.

Shades of Truth Theatre is of course reaching out to everyone to contribute as their budget allows. Every contribution no matter how small is significant. We thank everyone in advance for their generosity and their heartfelt contributions in creating a vision of a better world through the arts (Crucially, Shades of Truth Theatre operates under a 501c3 umbrella, and therefore contributions can be tax-deductible.)

Shades of Truth Theatre is deeply committed to educational and transformative theater. Founder and visionary Michael Anthony Green and his staff of actors and volunteers have embarked on nothing short of building a beloved community as outlined by the late, great, enfabled, and prophetic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (whose long, overarching, loving and enveloping shadow we live in and celebrate). Shades of Truth Theatre is a multicultural, multiracial undertaking. Shades of Truth Theatre welcomes you as a friend in making our vision and our theater yet another contribution in the creation of a desperately hoped-for beloved community/world.

Upcoming Events

Previous Productions

Last Tango in Harlem
2018 - Short Film. J. Bailey Morgan, Producer/Actor

Sweet Thang
2017 - Short Film. J. Bailey Morgan, Producer/Actor

ML: The King Years 4-34
Black History is American History. Presented by Shades of Truth Theatre & Voza Rivers/ New Heritage Theatre Group & Williams Institutional CME Church. Where: Williams Institutional CME, 2229 Adam Clayton Powell. When: Sunday, February 25, 2018 - 11:00 am.

 
Whistle in Mississippi: The Lynching of Emmett Till
Play Synopsis: In 1955, Emmett and his cousin, both from Chicago, went to visit family in Mississippi... according to several versions, Emmett whistled at a white woman and some say he grabbed her hand and asked her for a date; others say all he did was say 'bye, baby' as he left the store. Myths, lies and misinformation abound. Whistle in Mississippi...explores the impact of the brutal murder of Emmett Till and the powerful ripples of change that transformed our quest for the freedom into a struggle for humanity. The play also introduces a young boy whose vibrant personality and charismatic disposition always left a wrinkle in the forehead and a smile on your face.

The  "Whistle In Mississippi: The Lynching of Emmett Till" production will occur Sunday 15 October 2017 at 6:00pm in Co-op City and the Black Lady theater in Brooklyn. This play is one of many in the run up to Black Wall Street Theater and Music Festival commencing Memorial Day weekend 2018. We look forward to having a large turnout and we thank you in advance. It helps in efforts to build the Black Wall Street Museum Educational & Performance Center in New York City. The fundraiser tickets are only $100.00.

Here are scenes and photos, including a video clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=I8GLa3XeZUE&authuser=0 from Whistle in Mississippi: The Lynching of Emmett Till) as well as our current and past productions over the decades:

"The Friend & Films Fundraiser!” features a stellar line up of films written and directed by China L. Colston: award-nominated feature film “Dark Seed”, “Same Ole, Same Ole” (a comedy short), and a staged reading of the short film dramedy “Sweet Than.”

“The Friend & Films Fundraiser!” was held at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Community Center, which located at 34 West 134th St. in New York City, New York on Sunday, 11 June 2017. This event is one of many in the run up to Black Wall Street Theater and Music Festival commencing Memorial Day weekend 2018. We look forward to having a large turnout and we thank you in advance. It helps in efforts to build the Black Wall Street Museum Educational & Performance Center in New York City.

Through the use of narratives, spoken word & dramatic scenes of rage, resistance and revelry, "Tru Bone," along with an ensemble will help you experience the deep hurt, the spiritual joy and the ultimate resolve of resistance!…underscored by African drums and vocalists. This 90 minute tour de force is supported by a myriad mix of multimedia of both sight & sound.

The Meeting
In Association with Catholic Charities, Presented by Shades of Truth Theatre & Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group

The Meeting ...supposes a secret meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X ...an important and compelling play that offers viewers an opportunity to enjoy, study and reflect on the lives of two leaders who put the integrity and principle of freedom above the material riches that so many sell out for.  

(Noteworthy, we have included two addenda to this letter: one is a funding table for the Black Wall Street Museum and Performing Arts Center; the second is a list of events where we participated in a performance and/or as a co-producer.)

The contributions matter a great deal, as our organization strives to provide quality events and workshops for the community and for the youth of our community as well. Please contact us concerning all levels of sponsorships, contributions, and in-kind donations. Shades of Truth Theatre wishes to thank all of you in advance for your gracious and vital support.

Deferentially,

J. Bailey Morgan
Producer, Director of Global Marketing & Theater Development
Shades of Truth Theatre
Email: staff@globaltheateraudiences.org
jb_morgan@att.net
Phone 917-330-0132
917-330-3712
212-613-3242

Addendum I

Herewith, Shades of Truth Theatre’s level of sponsorships (private, institutional, and corporate) for the erection of the Black Wall Street Museum Educational and Performance Arts Center in Autumn 2022:

Founding Sponsor $25,000,000.00
Presenting Sponsor $22,500,000.00
Capstone Sponsor $20,000,000.00
Cornerstone Sponsor $17,500,000.00
Keystone Sponsor Level $15,000,000.00
Anchor Sponsor Level $12,500,000.00
Platinum Sponsor Level $10,000,000.00
Diamond Sponsor Level $7,500,000.00
Gold Sponsor Level $5,000,000.00
Silver Sponsor Level $2,500,000.00
Bronze Sponsor Level $1,000,000.00
Emerald Sponsor Level $900,000.00
Sapphire Sponsor Level $800,000.00
Ruby Sponsor Level $700,000.00
Benefactor Sponsor Level $600,000.00
Archangel Sponsor Level $500,000.00
Angel Sponsor Level $400,000.00
Supporter Sponsor Level $200,000.00
Donor Sponsor Level $100,000.00
Contributor Sponsor Level $50,000.00
Builder Sponsor Level $25,000.00
Friend Sponsor Level $10,000.00 and below

Addendum II

Jesus, Myth or Master? Where:  Mist Harlem 46 W. 116th Street, Harlem, New York When:  Sunday, December 20, 2015 Show times:  10am

Bridges: Episode 2 All Roads lead to OZ Where:  National Black Theater  2031 5th Ave, Harlem, New York When:  Sunday, November 29, 2015 Show times:  4:30pm to 6:30pm

The Fall of the Kings Where:  Andrew Freedman Home  1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY When:  September 5 – November 1, 2015 Show times:  Friday, Saturday & Sunday 8:00pm to 10:00pm

The Journey: A Story of the Israelites Where:  Mist Harlem 46 W. 116th Street, Harlem, New York When:  Saturday, September 12, 2015 Show times:  4:00pm and 9:30pm

The First Lady a Gospel production with Obsidian Media Group Where:  True Worship Church 872 Crescent St, Brooklyn, NY 11208 Show times: Friday, September 11, 2015 - 7:30pm Saturday, September 12, 2015 - 2pm and 7:30pm

Flambeaux

Bridges III

Bridges II

Bridges I