#07-21

Csodás végiggondolandó téma akadt elém, amit már szinte teljesen kiveséztek a reblogokban, én mégis áldozok neki egy posztot. Azt hiszem abból jön létre a félreértés, hogy mindenki a saját értékrendje, megszokásai, szándékai, hite és tévhitei alapján vesz részt egy ismerkedésben, egy barátság vagy párkapcsolat építésében. Máshol vannak bennünk a plotpointok. „A” párkapcsolatot keres, „B” ingereket. „B”nek eszébe se jut, hogy szólni kéne, hogy ő házas. Dehogynem jut eszébe, nem hülye, csak van egy számára elfogadható magarázata, hogy ő csak barátkozni akar, ehhez nincs köze, hogy házas. Sunyi-e „B”? Sunyi vagy hülye? További lehetőség, hogy narcisztikus vagy pszichopata, de ők csak dugás után és csak kényszerből terítették volna ki a lapjaikat, szóval én inkább csak a gyáva, érzelmi haszonleső figurát feltételezem. Sokszor felmerül a kérdés, hogy pl egy egyedülálló, aki ismerkedik, az mikor jelezze, hogy mások is vannak ám a partiban. A legtöbben többekkel randizgatnak és csak később döntenek véglegesen vagy éppen nagyon nagyon sokára döntenek, mert élvezik a többekkel kialakult közelebbi viszonyt. Ez pl szintén egy ingoványos dolog. Mert ott van egyik oldalon a mérhetetlen szabadság, hogy az ember bármit megtehet, a másik oldalon meg az empátia nyújtogatja a nyakát, hogy a bizonytalanságban tartás sérüléseket okoz a másikban. Gyakran ott van a pajzs: „én csak barátkozni akartam”. Vannak, akik tudnak úgy barátkozni, hogy a környezetükben fel sem merül a kérdés, hogy mi lehet a szándéka a másiknak. Ezen gondolkodtam, hogy ezt hogy van. Azt hiszem egy hét elegendő ahhoz, hogy ha folyamatos és intenzív az üzenetváltás, akkor az ember úgy gondolja, hogy felkeltette a másik érdeklődését. Ha úgy tudom, hogy a másik szingli, akkor úgy sejtem, hogy nemsokára egy randi keretében kiderül, hogy hogyan tovább. Ilyesféle intenzív levelezésben egy hónapon belül „kell” hogy megjelenjen a beszélgetésben valami a családi viszonyokról, exekről, szerelmekről, csalódásokról. Hiszen ezek fontos részei az életünknek, az erről meséléssel mélyíti az ember a kapcsolatot. Vagy nem. Mert van aki gondolni sem akar rá. Mert mondjuk éppen kurvaszar és rendezetlen a kapcsolata vagy éppen kibaszta élete szerelme és örül, hogy a beszélgetés átmenetileg enyhíti a szar közérzetét, de mesélni nem akar a dologról. Csakhogy akkor ő nem tisztán van benne a beszélgetésben, hanem használóként. Jogunk van-e használni másokat a saját céljainkra? Rondán hangzik, de valójában folyton ezt csináljuk. Igaza van-e annak, aki leszólja a faszit amiért nem mondta, hogy nős? Hiszen mondta, akkor amikor szerinte helye volt a dolognak, az első találkozáskor. Egyszerűen nem tudjuk, hogy mi zajlott le a pasas fejében. És ha a pasi egy tumblis lenne, aki elmeséli, hogy ő hogy átbaszódott, mert ő egy nyitott ember, aki örült egy másik nyitott embernek, erre mi a vége... és akkor a tumbli őt támogatná meg, hogy micsoda hülyék a nők... Öhm. Azért ezt még én is érzem, hogy necces. Hogy kurva nagy átbaszás ez, ami mögött mérhetetlen önzés van. Azt hiszem ez a kulcs. Az az ember kibaszott önző.

Az emberek sokszor azért válnak önzővé, mert boldogtalanok. Nem kapnak figyelmet, elismerést, üres az életük, és amikor hozzájutnak ezekhez, akkor gátlástalan habzsolásba kezdenek és nem tudnak józanul gondolkodni. Hiszen a faszi is sejtette, hogy ki lesz baszva a picsába. és ki is lett. De addig mérhetetlen mennyiségű figyelmet és szórakoztató beszélgetést kapott és a végén még azt is, hogy saját magát semiben nem kell hibásnak látnia. Beszélgetnek-e szingli nők nős pasasokkal? Nyilván. De nyilván nem (vagy csak szerencsétlen esetben) szövögetünk róluk párkapcsolati ábrándokat és így nyilván nem tesznek bele annyi energiát. Mondjuk, nekem az is fura kicsit amikor boldog párkapcsolatban élő férfi olyan intenzitással levelezik valakivel, hogy az félreérthetővé válik. És a végére egy tök személyes emlék. Fülig szerelmes voltam egy fasziba, aki az ismeretség elején elmondta, hogy NEM keres párt. A barátkozásra is azt mondta, ne, mert akkor nem fogok mást keresni. Ezerszer elmondta, hogy NEM. Nincs igénye párkapcsolatra és nem akar tőlem semmit, csak haverok vagyunk. De vak voltam és süket. Mert csak az apró „igen”eket láttam. Csak a vonzást éreztem és minden baráti megnyilvánulás reményt keltett bennem. Ilyenkor a másik ember is nagyon nehéz helyzetben van. Hiszen valami értékről kéne lemondania valami homályos mondás meg megmagyarázhatatlan elvárások miatt. Én meg minél jobban megismertem, annál jobban szerettem. Nehéz lenne megmondani, hogy ki hibázott. Annyira vonzó amikor vonzódnak hozzánk! Az olyan mint valami érzelmi lottónyeremény. Akkor is feldobja az embert, ha ő maga nem vonzódik a másikhoz. Mert semmit se kellett érte tenni. Mert azt az illúziót adja, hogy valaki önmagunkért szeret (hiszen nem akartunk semmit, ezért nem is alakoskodtunk). Na mindegy, kibaszott kurva esendőek vagyunk és ezt látni kell, hogy magányosak, érzelmileg kiéhezettek tudunk lenni, és nem is mindenki áll erkölcsi magaslatokon vagy éppen átmenetileg nem a morál bajnoka. Jó lenne nem bántani egymást, de a szükségleteink ebben sokszor megakadályoznak minket. Ettől függetlenül, mindenkivel együttérzek, aki átbaszva érzi magát, mert az élmény valós, a csalódás miatti megbántottság teljesen jogos. És jobb, tisztább, boldogabb ismerkedéseket meg kapcsolatokat kívánok mindenkinek!

Harry S. McAlpin (July 21, 1906 - July 18, 1985) was the first African-American reporter to attend a U.S. Presidential news conference in 1944.

Born on July 21, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri, Harry McAlpin studied journalism and advertising at the University of Wisconsin. After graduating in 1926, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a reporter, editor, and office manager for the Washington Tribune, an African American weekly paper, from 1926 to 1929. He then handled publicity and advertising for the National Benefit Life Insurance Company from 1929 to 1933.

When the New Deal got underway in 1933, McAlpin joined the New Negro Alliance to “protect employment of Negroes under the NRA [National Recovery Administration] program.” He served in the Federal Security Agency and the U.S. Employment Service while attending the Robert H. Terrell Law School at night. He passed the D.C. bar examination in 1937. McAlpin became an assistant to Mary McLeod Bethune, Director of Negro Affairs at the National Youth Administration. On the side, he worked as a part-time Washington correspondent for the Chicago Defender.

In 1943 the National Negro Publishers Association (NNPA) petitioned the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) for press credentials on the grounds that the Atlanta Daily World was one of its member papers. All other African American papers at the time were weeklies, and the press credentials were limited to reporters for daily papers. The WHCA agreed but it took several more months before the NNPA could afford to open its own Washington bureau and hire McAlpin as its full-time Washington correspondent. In February 1944 he attended his first presidential press conference and was greeted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who shook his hand and said, “I’m glad to see you, McAlpin, and very happy to have you here.”

Although accredited at the White House, McAlpin was rejected when he applied for a congressional press pass. The Standing Committee of Correspondents that controlled accreditation for the newspaper press galleries at the Capitol regarded him as a reporter for mostly weekly papers, while the Periodical Press gallery rejected him because he reported for newspapers rather than magazines. McAlpin believed that these actions were influenced “by my racial identity rather than the flimsy technicality publicly stated.”

Strong competition from a rival news service, the Associated Negro Press (ANP), led the NNPA to replace McAlpin as its Washington Correspondent with Louis Lautier. McAlpin moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he served as the only African American assistant commonwealth attorney until 1953, when he resigned after being dropped from a criminal prosecution of three white women. McAlpin became head of the Louisville chapter of the NAACP. He died on July 18, 1985.

He was posthumously honored by the White House Correspondents Association at their May 3, 2014 dinner. The WHCA created a scholarship in his memory, and President Barack Obama noted his pioneering journalism.

hogy elég sokat tudok a narcisztikus személyiségzavarról. SEMMIT NEM TUDTAM EDDIG!

Amit tudtam, az semmi, morzsák, lófasz.

Én nem gondoltam, hogy ez ilyen felszabadító lesz. Nem tudom, hogy emlékszik-e bárki arra, amikor a vakfoltról írtam. A dolog amit mások tudnak rólad, de te nem tudsz magadról. Ez a tudás ez ELKÉPESZTŐEN FELSZABADÍTÓ számomra. Oh, tudom, ne kiabáljak. De egyszerűen nem tudok betelni vele! Már nem akarom elmondani senkinek, nem akarok beszélni róla. Teljesen elegendő, hogy én tudom.

Csend van a fejemben. Tulajdonképpen az óta, amióta a VR játék által  belekerült egy új nézőpont. Ezt nem lesz könnyű elmagyarázni. Azért mentem annak idején pszichológushoz, mert az a dolga, hogy adjon egy olyan külső nézőpontot ami segít kilépni az ismétlődésből. A megoldhatatlannak tűnő élethelyzetek lényege, hogy azt gondoljuk, hogy nincsen más út. Nem tudjuk meglátni a többi lehetőséget. Nem azért mert hülyék vagyunk, hanem mert azt gondoljuk, hogy mindent számbavettünk, mindennek elfogadhatatlanul nagy ára van, vagyis nincs számunkra elfogadható megoldása a problémának. Aztán naponta vagy akár naponta többször végigjárjuk ugyanazt a gondolatsort, hogy a végén újra eljussunk oda, hogy nincs megoldás, az életünk örökre így marad. (ez viszi öngyilkosságba az embereket, de ebbe ne menjünk most bele) És akkor jön a pszichológus és rámutat, hogy valamelyik kulcsot csak azért nem fogadjuk el, mert azt tanították vagy mondták vagy sugallták nekünk, hogy az elfogadhatatlan, de valójában az életünkben az a dolog már túlhaladott, csak nem cseréltük ki rajta a cimkét. A jó pszichológus nem ad tanácsot, megoldásokat sem mond, csak fényt gyújt, megkérdőjelezi a bekövesedett, idejétmúlt berögzüléseket, megpiszkálja a máló vakolatot az imidzsünkön és hasonlók. Aztán hagyja, hogy építkezzünk, és a kezünk ügyébe tolja a papírszepis dobozt, ha bőgnénk esetleg. Szóval benne vagy az agyadban, és azt hiszed, hogy ami az agyadban van az a valóság. Sőt, többnyire bomba biztos vagy benne, hogy az valóságosabb mindenki más valóságánál. A legtöbb ember azt sem tudja elképzelni, hogy az ö gondolataival teljesen ellentétes dolog a másik embernek pont olyan valóság. És akkor belépsz a VR-ba és az agyad kijön ebből a dobozból. Tudod, hogy nem valóság ahol vagy, de mintha kinyitnál egy új szobát a fejedben. És amikor a való életben beindul a rágódás, akkor magad mögött hagyhatod a megoldhatatlan dolgokat és bemenekülsz abba a szobába.  Nekem a mozgás segíti a legtöbbet. Persze, szórakoztató az összes játék, de amikor a vr összekapcsolódik a testem fizikai érzeteivel, azt nagyon szeretem. És amikor visszajövök a valóságba, akkor a problémák valahogy már nincsenek ott. A fiam nem agyal ennyit, csak játszik és kész. Jól érzi magát. Én agyalok rajta, mert egy kis játék után egyből lett két novellaötletem és nem tudok kibújni a bőrömből, engem érdekel, hogy hogyan működik az elme és mindig is érdekelt, hogy merre haladunk majd. Meg kell kérdeznem az ismerősömet, hogy hogyan működik a páros meg többes jelenlét a virtualitásban. Mert kurvajó az egész, de mégjobb, ha nem vagy egyedül. Csak mondom... van egy beat saber pálya, ami 360 fokos. Esélytelen vagyok rajta. Nem is tudom kiknek találták ki. Kihívás!

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer (June 18, 1937 – July 21, 2008) was an African-American writer, producer, teacher, actress and visionary. In 1968, she founded Harlem's National Black Theatre, the first revenue-generating black theater arts complex in the U.S.

Early life

Teer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Fred L. and Lila B. Teer, well known as dedicated educators and community leaders. Early in her life, Barbara demonstrated extraordinary gifts and talents. At 15, she graduated from Lincoln High School in East St. Louis. At 19, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in dance education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and immediately travelled to study dance with Antoine Decroaux in Paris and with Mary Wigman in Berlin. Her sister, Frederika Teer, was a Congress Of Racial Equality Field Secretary (organizer)in the north & mid-South from 1960. She and Genevieve Hughes were the first women to hold the title.

Career in the theatre

Following her international travels, Teer came to New York City, where she pursued a career as a professional dancer. She studied with Alwin Nikolais at the Henry Street Playhouse and Syvilla Fort (Katherine Dunham Technique). She toured with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Louis Johnson Dance Company and the Pearl Bailey Las Vegas Revue. In 1961, Teer made her Broadway debut as dance captain in the Tony award-winning musical Kwamina, which was choreographed by Agnes de Mille. Teer performed in the film version of Ossie Davis’s stage play Purlie Victorious. After a knee injury in 1962, Teer switched her primary artistic focus from dance to theatre. She studied with acting luminaries including Sanford Meisner, Paul Mann, Lloyd Richards, and Phillip Burton. Teer crafted a lucrative and successful acting career, receiving numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award and several Obie Awards. Between 1961 and 1966, she continued to perform on and off-Broadway as well as in television and film.

Teer grew disillusioned with the negative stereotypes she came across in her quest for responsible acting roles, making an exception to appear in the 1969 motion picture "Slaves." . In 1963, she co-founded The Group Theatre Workshop with Robert Hooks, which later became the Negro Ensemble Company. Arguing for independence from the white-dominated mainstream, she wrote in a 1968 article in The New York Times:

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and black, where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can literally ‘blow our minds’ with blackness.”

National Black Theatre

In 1968, with the emerging cultural consciousness of the African experience, Teer decided to found a new theatrical institution committed to cultural transformation, social change, and historical innovation within African-American communities. Leaving a flourishing career, and following in the activist footsteps of her older sister Fredrica (who had been an organizer with Eldridge Cleaver and Stokley Carmichael), Teer founded the National Black Theatre (NBT). Its mission was self-empowerment, liberation, truth and training for a new generation of artists and creative entrepreneurs. Over five decades, Teer was an agent of change and an eminent curator of the African cultural heritage.

Her representation of authentic cultural traditions of people of African descent born in America was unprecedented. She fashioned a new cultural paradigm by organizing a spiritual and artistic community of people who were conscious of their responsibility as “institution builders.”

Methodology

In addition to her role as a pioneer of Black theatre that reached beyond America, she developed a groundbreaking methodology taught exclusively at the National Black Theatre called “TEER: The Technology of Soul.” TEER Technology utilized the symbolism, rituals, and mythology of authentic West African traditions. It shifted the traditional paradigm of Western theatre from a “self-conscious” art form to “God-conscious” art, allowing artistic expression which thrived on audience participation and was based on “call and response” dialogue embodied in the Black church. The creative process removed the two-dimensional “psychic distance” existing between the artist on stage and the audience. She called it a “Ritualistic Revival — theatre art that flows from the heart.”

Schools and cadre trainings

During the 1970s, NBT continued to be a fertile training ground for actors, singers, dancers, and musicians within the Harlem community and beyond. In 1974, Teer founded the Children’s School for the Development of Intuitive and God-Conscious Art (CSDIG). Having recently become a mother, she wanted to create a nurturing, loving, and empowering environment in which the children of NBT staff could grow, learn, and thrive in a self-affirming and unfettered manner. A concept ahead of its time, CSDIG enabled the NBT staff to bring their children to work with them and provided them with a priceless education.

Teer wrote, directed and produced a substantial and impressive body of work, including ritualistic revivals (plays) and interactive artistic reviews. She believed theatre and artistic expression were sublime sources of healing and nurturing for the Black community and, in fact, for all of humanity.

Self-determination and real estate

Her unwavering commitment to exploring African artistic expression was complemented by the belief that artists should also be owners/entrepreneurs within the communities where they live, work and serve. Teer viewed artistic expression and ownership as a formidable power source for generating social and political change. In that vein, she purchased a city block of property in Central Harlem on a major business corridor at 125th Street and Fifth Avenue. The National Black Theatre was the sponsoring developer for a 64,000 square feet (5,900 m2) real estate project that became the first revenue-generating Black Theatre Arts Complex in the country.

Honors

For her decades of inspiration and cultural advocacy, Teer was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Rochester and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from the University of Southern Illinois.

Personal life

Teer had an early marriage to Actor-Comedian Godfrey Cambridge (1962–65) and subsequently had children with Michael Adeyemi Lythcott. She was the mother of two children — son Michael F. "Omi" Lythcott and daughter Barbara A. "Sade" Lythcott.

Theodore Rosevelt "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American stage, film and television actor. Wilson is best known for his recurring role as Earl the Postman on the ABC sitcom That's My Mama, and as Sweet Daddy Williams on the CBS sitcom Good Times.

Career

Born in New York City, Wilson studied music at Florida A&M University before switching to drama. Upon returning to New York, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company and later worked with the Arena Stage Repertory. He made his acting debut in the blaxploitation film, Cotton Comes to Harlem, in 1970. The following year, Wilson moved to Los Angeles. He made his television debut in a two-episode role as "Rev. Hawthorne Dooley" on the drama series The Waltons. In 1973, Wilson was cast the supporting role of "High Strung" on the CBS sitcom Roll Out. The series was canceled after 13 weeks. The following year, Wilson was cast Earl Chambers, a postman on the ABC sitcom That's My Mama. That series was also short lived and canceled after just one season.

In September 1976, Wilson signed with Tandem Productions, the production company owned by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear who produced some of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s. Wilson would go on to guest star in several Yorkin/Lear-produced series including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, What's Happening!!, The Jeffersons, and 13 Queens Boulevard. In 1976, Wilson was cast as "Sweet Daddy Williams", a street hustler on the CBS sitcom Good Times. Wilson would appear as "Sweet Daddy" throughout the series' five-year run. In August 1977, it was announced that Wilson would star in a spin-off of the hit sitcom Sanford and Son called Sanford Arms. The series was intended to be a continuation of the highly popular Sanford and Son, which ended in March 1977 when both the series' stars, Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson left the series. Wilson starred as "Phil Wheeler", an Army veteran and widower who has purchased the Sanford Arms, a room house, from his old Army buddy Fred G. Sanford. Upon its premiere in September 1977, Sanford Arms was critically panned and drew low ratings. It was canceled after four episodes.

After the series was canceled, Wilson made various guest appearances in episodes of The White Shadow (he also wrote a 1980 episode), Enos, Gimme a Break!, The Golden Girls and What's Happening Now. In 1986, he had a recurring role on another short-lived series, The Redd Foxx Show. Wilson continued to work throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s appearing in Alien Nation, Dallas, Family Matters, Tales from the Crypt, Gabriel's Fire, Mama's Family and Quantum Leap. He was also featured in films The Hunter (1980), Blake Edwards' A Fine Mess and That's Life! (both 1986). Wilson made his last onscreen appearance in Blood in Blood Out, a 1993 crime drama released after his death. Theodore "Teddy" Wilson graduated from Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was drum major for the "Marching 100"-Dillard High's band Prior to his attending Florida A & M University. I knew him personally at Dillard High School.

Personal life

In 1980, Wilson married actress Joan Pringle. The couple had two children and remained married until Wilson's death in 1991.

Death

On July 21, 1991, Wilson died of a stroke at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, at the age of 47.

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer (June 18, 1937 – July 21, 2008) was an African-American writer, producer, teacher, actress and visionary. In 1968, she founded Harlem's National Black Theatre, the first revenue-generating black theater arts complex in the U.S.

Early life

Teer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Fred L. and Lila B. Teer, well known as dedicated educators and community leaders. Early in her life, Barbara demonstrated extraordinary gifts and talents. At 15, she graduated from Lincoln High School in East St. Louis. At 19, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in dance education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and immediately travelled to study dance with Antoine Decroaux in Paris and with Mary Wigman in Berlin. Her sister, Frederika Teer, was a Congress Of Racial Equality Field Secretary (organizer)in the north & mid-South from 1960. She and Genevieve Hughes were the first women to hold the title.

Career in the theatre

Following her international travels, Teer came to New York City, where she pursued a career as a professional dancer. She studied with Alwin Nikolais at the Henry Street Playhouse and Syvilla Fort (Katherine Dunham Technique). She toured with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Louis Johnson Dance Company and the Pearl Bailey Las Vegas Revue. In 1961, Teer made her Broadway debut as dance captain in the Tony award-winning musical Kwamina, which was choreographed by Agnes de Mille. Teer performed in the film version of Ossie Davis’s stage play Purlie Victorious. After a knee injury in 1962, Teer switched her primary artistic focus from dance to theatre. She studied with acting luminaries including Sanford Meisner, Paul Mann, Lloyd Richards, and Phillip Burton. Teer crafted a lucrative and successful acting career, receiving numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award and several Obie Awards. Between 1961 and 1966, she continued to perform on and off-Broadway as well as in television and film.

Teer grew disillusioned with the negative stereotypes she came across in her quest for responsible acting roles, making an exception to appear in the 1969 motion picture "Slaves." . In 1963, she co-founded The Group Theatre Workshop with Robert Hooks, which later became the Negro Ensemble Company. Arguing for independence from the white-dominated mainstream, she wrote in a 1968 article in The New York Times:

“We must begin building cultural centers where we can enjoy being free, open and black, where we can find out how talented we really are, where we can be what we were born to be and not what we were brainwashed to be, where we can literally ‘blow our minds’ with blackness.”

National Black Theatre

In 1968, with the emerging cultural consciousness of the African experience, Teer decided to found a new theatrical institution committed to cultural transformation, social change, and historical innovation within African-American communities. Leaving a flourishing career, and following in the activist footsteps of her older sister Fredrica (who had been an organizer with Eldridge Cleaver and Stokley Carmichael), Teer founded the National Black Theatre (NBT). Its mission was self-empowerment, liberation, truth and training for a new generation of artists and creative entrepreneurs. Over five decades, Teer was an agent of change and an eminent curator of the African cultural heritage.

Her representation of authentic cultural traditions of people of African descent born in America was unprecedented. She fashioned a new cultural paradigm by organizing a spiritual and artistic community of people who were conscious of their responsibility as “institution builders.”

Methodology

In addition to her role as a pioneer of Black theatre that reached beyond America, she developed a groundbreaking methodology taught exclusively at the National Black Theatre called “TEER: The Technology of Soul.” TEER Technology utilized the symbolism, rituals, and mythology of authentic West African traditions. It shifted the traditional paradigm of Western theatre from a “self-conscious” art form to “God-conscious” art, allowing artistic expression which thrived on audience participation and was based on “call and response” dialogue embodied in the Black church. The creative process removed the two-dimensional “psychic distance” existing between the artist on stage and the audience. She called it a “Ritualistic Revival — theatre art that flows from the heart.”

Schools and cadre trainings

During the 1970s, NBT continued to be a fertile training ground for actors, singers, dancers, and musicians within the Harlem community and beyond. In 1974, Teer founded the Children’s School for the Development of Intuitive and God-Conscious Art (CSDIG). Having recently become a mother, she wanted to create a nurturing, loving, and empowering environment in which the children of NBT staff could grow, learn, and thrive in a self-affirming and unfettered manner. A concept ahead of its time, CSDIG enabled the NBT staff to bring their children to work with them and provided them with a priceless education.

Teer wrote, directed and produced a substantial and impressive body of work, including ritualistic revivals (plays) and interactive artistic reviews. She believed theatre and artistic expression were sublime sources of healing and nurturing for the Black community and, in fact, for all of humanity.

Self-determination and real estate

Her unwavering commitment to exploring African artistic expression was complemented by the belief that artists should also be owners/entrepreneurs within the communities where they live, work and serve. Teer viewed artistic expression and ownership as a formidable power source for generating social and political change. In that vein, she purchased a city block of property in Central Harlem on a major business corridor at 125th Street and Fifth Avenue. The National Black Theatre was the sponsoring developer for a 64,000 square feet (5,900 m2) real estate project that became the first revenue-generating Black Theatre Arts Complex in the country.

Honors

For her decades of inspiration and cultural advocacy, Teer was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Rochester and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from the University of Southern Illinois.

Personal life

Teer had an early marriage to Actor-Comedian Godfrey Cambridge (1962–65) and subsequently had children with Michael Adeyemi Lythcott. She was the mother of two children — son Michael F. "Omi" Lythcott and daughter Barbara A. "Sade" Lythcott.