The Afrikan Poetry Theatre, with the formal name The Afrikan Poetry Theatre: The Center for Culture, is a community-based cultural institution located in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

Established in 1976 by co-founders John Watusi Branch and Yusef Waliyaya, the theatre has been stationed at its current location, 176th Street & Jamaica Avenue, since 1979. The Afrikan Poetry Theatre Ensemble, the progenitor to the theater, was co-founded by the late Yusef Waliyaya and the late John Watusi Branch, in 1976 as a collection of

poets A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

singers Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

focused on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

African rhythms Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as consti ...

and poetry. The Afrikan Poetry Theatre was incorporated in 1977 and found a home on Merrick Boulevard the following year. It moved to its current location, at 176-03 Jamaica Ave., in 1979. On March 31, 2002, an electrical fire damaged much of the second floor, including a small collection of African artifacts and books. On November 5, 2006, the theatre celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, where Queens Borough President,

Helen Marshall Helen Marshall may refer to: * Helen M. Marshall (1929–2017), American politician from New York * Helen Marshall (historian) (1898–?), American historian of nursing * Helen Marshall (artist) (born 1971), British visual artist * Helen Marshall ...

declared the day “Afrikan Poetry Theatre” day. After the passing of his father, Saiku Branch, son of co-founder, was named executive director. On June 25 of 2016, the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 176th Street in Jamaica, Queens was named John Watusi Branch Way. Currently, the Afrikan Poetry Theatre is subject to begin renovations on a state of the art facility.

Programs

Under Branch's direction, the theater expanded to offer cultural and educational tours to West Africa and developed a summer youth employment program. Branch was a respected and well-known figure in the pan-African movement to establish independence for African nations and unify black people across the world. The Theatre presents a roster of wide-ranging cultural activities of interest to its largely African-American constituents, including music performances, lectures and workshops for aspiring filmmakers, actors, poets and writers of all ages. Widely acclaimed activities include: *Kings and Queens Awards Ceremony *Tours to Africa *Jazz Jam Sessions *Acting Classes *Film Classes *ESL Acting Workshop *APT Film Festival *Urban Poets Movement – Open Mic Sessions *Poetry Workshops *Poetry is Paint Senior Arts Program *African History for Young People Local newspaper '' Queens Teens Voices'' has operated out of APT since 2000.

Annual Kwanzaa Celebration

APT's most popular activity is its Annual Kwanzaa Celebration uniting thousands of community residents to celebrate the 7 principles of Kwanzaa through cultural performances, speeches, food and merchandise.

References

1976 establishments in New York City Arts organizations based in New York City Arts organizations established in 1976 Jamaica, Queens Theatres completed in 1976 Theatres in Queens, New York {{US-theat-stub