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Negro Ensemble Company, few are aware of the existence of the National Black Theatre, Voices, Inc., or Ernie McClintock's Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech.

The compilation of a directory listing black composers, musicians, choreographers and dancers, artists, creative writers, and filmmakers, as well as organized groups and institutions engaged in these disciplines, would alleviate the problems mentioned above. In addition to its use as a basic reference directory, it would assist school systems, social service agencies (including hospitals and prisons), and cultural institutions in their programming of community cultural services. The resurgence of cultural consciousness among black people in the United States, has, since the 1960's, reached an intensity unmatched by previous periods of similar creativity and self-analysis; the lowering of discriminatory bars to blacks in many fields and an increase in the availability of financial support has in effect, burst a dam. Documentation of the proliferation of activity at this stage is most critical for black people as a group, as well as for the continued progress of white people, thus creating a benefit to the society as a whole.

Method

The need for a cultural directory is demonstrated in part, by the intensifying bittering circumstances under which it must be compiled: there are no established channels for eliciting the information required. However, once the initial directory is produced, an additional dividend will be that a regular channel for the dissemination of this information will