After over 25 years of national recognition, artistic excellence, and community impact, The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) has been unexpectedly excluded from this year’s National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding list.

This decision didn’t come with a conversation — just a cold, bureaucratic letter terminating our grant and stating that our work no longer aligns with “new policy priorities.”

Let me be clear: this is more than a change in funding. It’s a cultural and political signal that threatens CTH and the very idea of who gets counted as part of this country’s rich artistic heritage.

Since 1999, CTH has told global stories through the lens of the African diaspora. Our work spans from Shakespeare to August Wilson, from Euripides to new emerging playwrights of color.

For over

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