Billie Holliday Theatre Will Lead The Black Seed to Provide Financial Support for Black Theaters Across the Country

The Billie Holiday Theater in Brooklyn will spearhead The Black Seed, which is described as the first national strategic plan to provide financial support for Black theaters across the country, The New York Times reports.

The Black Seed has been kickstarted by a $5 million gift from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

A request for proposals from Black theater institutions will be announced in October, and the group hopes to announce grantees in December. The group will award up to 50 one- to three-year grants to Black theaters in the coming months, in amounts ranging from $30,000 to $300,000.

In addition to the Billie Holiday Theatre, three other Black-led performing arts institutions will join the program, the Craft Institute, Plowshares Theater Company, and WACO Theater Center.

The Black Seed group hopes to raise $10 million for the three-year initiative.

Read more on The New York Times.