The 28th annual open house at the Frank Silvera's Writers Workshop took place on September 11, 2000. This open house at the Harlem Theatre Company located at 473 W. 150th St. serves many purposes and is an important part of the African-American theater community. The diverse panel included Abiola Sinclair, journalist and publisher of Black History magazine; Ed Shockley, playwright and president of the Philadelphia Black Dramatist Center; Tunde Samuels, a producer at the National Black Theater; James Pringle, executive director of the Harlem Theater Company; Mel Donaldson, actor and producer at the Philadelphia Black Theater Festival; and, last but certainly not least, Theodore Berger, executive director of the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Before the meeting, Sinclair called for us to salute our ancestors. We began in Yoruba, an African language, and everyone was encouraged to call out to their ancestors. The ritual, which is extremely spiritual and emotional, is done so that the ancestors will not "pop up during the meeting." This is done so that the ancestors will not "disrupt" the meeting. As each person remembered their ancestors we all thought about how they had worked hard to make the road we travel today easier, and we showed our appreciation for their sacrifice through our passionate salutation.

After the salutation and introductions, the meeting began. With juices flowing, everyone began to bounce ideas off each other, yet one subject kept coming up‹funding. Garland Thompson, the master of ceremonies for the evening, told us that many African-American theaters had failed because of insufficient funding.

Many innovative fundraising ideas were introduced. Also, important dates were announced for theater events.

One of the panelists brought up the point that when African-Americans gather together to do something they talk a lot about goals, but there is little action to see those goals through. There is no lack of intelligence but a lack of motivation. He brought up the example of the Million-Man March to support his statement. As the audience mulled this thought over I thought to myself that the Million-Man March was like a healthy tree that bore no fruit.

He made a suggestion for everyone to set a goal to accomplish by next year and people exchanged phone numbers and email addresses to keep in touch.

Before we left, Garland served us refreshments and gave us more time to mingle. I met several of the panelists face-to-face. The room was abuzz with the discussion of what was said and how those goals could be put into action. Everyone was talking about how money could be raised for theaters. In the case of emergencies, the theaters would be able to survive on the money set aside in this fund. Everyone had their own twist on how this African American Theater Fund could be put together. Everything from using the Internet to fundraise to mutual funds was mentioned.

At the end, a crowd member said, " This is only the beginningŠ" and I hoped that was true. With the goal to grow and improve, the African American Theater will soon become an important influence in the United States and eventually the world.