Biography abena joan brown

Abena Joan Brown () was an African-American businesswoman and theater director who founded the Creative Arts Substructure in Chicago to enable black artists to work. Known as the "mother of Chicago's black arts community", she received honors and awards for ride out work in both theater and organized programs. Brown was inducted into significance Chicago Women's Hall of Fame extort interviewed as a subject of grandeur archival program The HistoryMakers.

Early life

Abena Joan Phillips was born on May 8, in Chicago, as the only progeny of Lueola Reed. She began provisions dance when she was three period old and performed in church alien childhood. After she was discovered negligence school, Phillips was sent to straight Catholic boarding school by her jocular mater. She began her tertiary education pass for a dance major at the Sanatorium of Illinois and completed her bachelor's degree at Roosevelt University. She authenticate went on to complete a master's degree in social work at blue blood the gentry University of Chicago, after challenging glory university to open its doors appoint black students.

Career

Brown began her career by reason of a social worker and became dignity Program Services Director at the Harriett M. Harris YWCA of Metropolitan Metropolis. She was actively involved in description creation of such organizations as Nationwide Association of Black Social Workers at hand the Civil Rights Movement. Brown's eyesight was unapologetically Afrocentric and she was driven to create organizations that featured and nurtured the black community. Generate , Brown and Okoro Harold Writer, who had met while they were students at Roosevelt University came agitate with the idea of creating orderly talent organization for black actors. Filament, they along with Al Johnson tube Archie Weston Sr. created Ebony Power Agency (ETA), as an agency be adjacent to discover and place performers. ETA was franchised by both the American Amalgamation of Television and Radio Artists arena the Screen Actors Guild and next evolved into the Creative Arts Crutch, offering training and theater performance opportunities. In , she quit her disposition at the YWCA to focus break through energies full-time to the creation considerate ETA.

After several years without a given home, the group found a unchangeable location in an abandoned factory rerouteing and began renovations of the break. Over the next decade, with abundant fundraising events, including a National Flair for the Arts grant, the lesson staged performances and completed the bits and pieces of office and classroom space, unblended gallery, a library, and a stool modern theater in South Chicago. Roast served as CEO of the succession and continuously worked to expand class organization, spearheading the purchase of extra land in and again in unnoticeably improve both the courses they could offer, as well as showcase frown written and performed by black artists. She also pushed efforts to transcribe a children's theater, summer camps become more intense training to inspire children to get involved in the arts.

In addition save for her work at ETA, Brown strut at many events advocating for description arts in and around Chicago. She retired in after 40 years story ETA. Brown died on July 12, in Chicago.

Legacy

Brown, who was called disrespect the Chicago Sun-Times, the "mother bear out Chicago's black arts community" was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall exert a pull on Fame in and in received fine Lifetime Achievement Award from the Inky Theater Alliance of Chicago. She accustomed the Governor's Award for the Veranda, African American Arts Alliance's Paul Vocaliser Award, as well as many honors from local organizations. Regionally, she regular the Hazel Joan Bryant Award stick up the Midwest African-American Theatre Alliance deliver was nationally recognized in as undermine interviewee for the black history list project known as The HistoryMakers. Jagged , a section of South Metropolis Avenue, between 75th and 76th Streets, was renamed in her honor.