According to the Actor’s Equity 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Report, only 10.37 percent of acting contracts nationwide went to African Americans, and according to a Dramatist’s Guild study, undertaken with the Lillys in 2018 under the name the count, only 15 percent of plays produced in the U.S. are writers of color, despite people of color making up to 40 percent of the population.
The arts and cultural offerings in our region must represent the diversity of our community. It is Black Arts MKE’s goal to prevent this trend from continuing and to provide a more sustainable, vibrant African American arts scene in our community.