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The Ethiopian Art Theatre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Addell Austin Anderson
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Extract

The Ethiopian Art Theatre was founded in response to the racial strife of early twentieth-century Chicago. From 1910 to 1920, the migration of Southern blacks to Chicago more than doubled the black population from 44,103 to 109,458. White citizens felt threatened by the influx, fearing unemployment and epidemics in crime and health. Racial tensions increased from 1917 to 1919 as white gangs openly assaulted blacks. So-called “neighborhood improvement societies” bombed black homes and realty offices suspected of attempting to break up white residential areas. The Chicago Association of Commerce and the Chicago Tribune encouraged blacks to return to the South.

Type
Research Article
Information
Theatre Survey , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , November 1992 , pp. 132 - 143
Copyright
Copyright © American Society for Theatre Research 1992

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References

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