Our Stories, Our Lives, Our Institutions Matter, Yet …

Funding Terminated for Historic Center for Black Literature (CBL) at Medgar Evers College

Dear Friends and Family of the Center,
As many of you may know, on Friday, May 2, 2025, arts organizations nationwide receiving grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) were informed that their grants had been terminated or cancelled. The Center for Black Literature was one of the organizations whose grant was terminated.

The Center for Black Literature’s role and impact in sharing, educating, enlightening, and advocating for the advancement and uplifting of Black literature and its artists across the Diaspora has been a labor of love for more than two decades. Support from the NEA was a major pillar that upheld our important work. Without that support, programming that has become a staple of the literary world and to our constituents will be curtailed at best and ended at worst.

For more than twenty years the gathering during the National Black Writers Conference, and its Symposium, John Oliver Killens Reading Series, Writers on Writing radio show, the Killens Review of Arts and Letters, Wild Seeds Retreat for Writers of Color, monthly Book Club, the Dr. Edith Rock Elders Writing Workshop and Re-Envisioning our Lives Through Literature (ROLL) our youth program, the Center for Black Literature has been an intergenerational beacon of knowledge, fellowship and community building.

In these uncertain times and under an administration whose policies differ from the mission of many arts organizations, now more than ever, we need strong and sustained support from you. When books are being banned, speech is censored, up is down, and right is left, organizations such as the Center for Black Literature must continue to do the work that our community has come to know, respect, and expect from us.

Unfortunately, we can no longer count on the NEA in the future, and without its financial support, our work will be that much more challenging to achieve. However, we remain committed to continuing the business of enriching communities, providing a space to amplify seasoned and rising voices in the arts, and advancing knowledge. We are asking for your help to continue our necessary work.

What can you do?
Contact your representatives and let them know how important the arts are to unifying communities, providing jobs, supporting local businesses, and improving academic performance

Support writers—buy their books
Visit your local library
Share our newsletter with friends
Attend our events
Contribute to the Center for Black Literature. No amount is too small

With your support, the Center for Black Literature will continue to stay on course and remain a respite for our community and beyond.

In solidarity,
Donna Hill, Associate Professor, Medgar Evers College, Executive Director, Center for Black Literature Centerforblackliterature.org
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