To Be Young, Performing, and Black

This chapter highlights historical precedents of contemporary African American youth theatre and performance formations, linking them to a historical African/African American theatre and performance continuum. It examines ways in which African American youth create, enact, and transmute theatrical performance in innovative and liberating ways. In historicizing young people’s engagement, this chapter provides an inclusive and nuanced understanding of the field’s historical and current state while also offering insight into where the field is headed.