About Us
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Inc., is a multi-discipline arts institution whose mission is to create and enhance an awareness and understanding of artistic, cultural and aesthetic differences utilizing the framework of African, African American and Caribbean Arts and Letters.
Additionally, its purpose is to promote, cultivate, foster, preserve and perpetuate the African, African American and Caribbean Arts and letters in the Fine, Literary, Visual, Performing and Cinematic Arts.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy:
All employees of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters have a responsibility to always treat others with dignity and respect. All employees are expected to exhibit conduct that reflects inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and at all other company-sponsored and participative events.
Letter From Our Founder

44 years . . . What a journey!
More than four decades ago, what started out as the “Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters (JBA), an institution which rebranded itself several years later as The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL), has now become a permanent downtown Dallas, Texas landmark in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. From a dining room table, with a meager $250 investment to open the institution’s first bank account, TBAAL has weathered many storms from being homeless to surviving an endlessness succession of funding cuts over the years. True to the institution’s mission, the general public, TBAAL ardent supporters, volunteers and the Board of Directors have been a consistent pillar for TBAAL’s spiraling continued successes!
What a journey . . . 44 years later!
From the emerging and promising young artists and scholars to the biggest American names in visual, literary, cinematic and performing arts, TBAAL has been a cultural and artistic incubator, laboratory and platform to launch, present and produce some of the country’s greatest programs, talents and entertainment from the halls of TBAAL to DC’s The Kennedy Center, Harlem New York’s Apollo Theater, LA’s Wilshire Ebell Theater, Dallas’ Meyerson Symphony Hall and the AT&T Performing Arts Center. It also has been a refreshing and uplifting gathering place for Dallas citizens, visitors and tourists to exchange thoughts and ideas on many levels. It has been a place of social comfort, a storehouse to preserve rare documents and an archival clearinghouse of sort to digitally enhance and disseminate TBAAL’s original archival history, via our new and long-term archival partnership with the University of North Texas.
What a journey . . . 44 years later!
From an annual attendance of 5,000, forty years ago, to almost a half-million patrons is a testament of need and desire for TBAAL to persist with its work and mission. Almost unanimous in its decision a year ago, the Dallas City Council extended a thirty-year commitment of approval for TBAAL to continue provide diversity of cultural arts entertainment in its downtown Convention Center location. This too is evidence that Dallas is the “can do” city “that works!”
What a journey . . . 44 years later!
We encourage you to come take the 44th year season excursion with us! Get your membership and reap all the members’ discount amenities! Even though our tickets are affordable, you can get an even greater discount on tickets if you become an “Own My Seat” Season Package Deal Subscriber! You can help us open and close season 44 with a big bang and kick-off season 45 with a bigger bang for Dallas’ second Riverfront Jazz Festival with Dallas’ own Erykah Badu, who will serve as Festival Honorary Host.
What a journey! Come go on this ride with us. We got a 44th season line-up for you!!
Curtis King
Founder & President
InstitutionalFacts
TBAAL has received Arts and Education funding from the Dallas Independent School District for several years. Funding has increased from $52,000 to over $150,000.
TBAAL distributes brochures to 50,000 patrons on our nationwide mailing list, receives over 4 million website visits, a social reach of 12,000 Facebook fans, 50,000 Twitter followers, over 2000 LinkedIn connections and maintains an email user base of 45,000 patrons.
Based in Dallas, Texas - TBAAL is located in a 250,000 square foot facility located in the heart of downtown Dallas in the Dallas Convention Center.
TBAAL annually serves an audience of over 600,000 patron and a membership base of 10,000.
TBAAL services more than 50,000 youth in its Arts and Education programs.
TBAAL has roots to the now defunct NYC based Black Academy of Arts and Letters founded in 1969.
TBAAL season starts September 1 and ends August 31.
TBAAL hired its first Chief Executive Director, Jiles R. King, as a part of the institution’s succession plan in October 2013. Kia Davis became the next Chief Executive Director, December 2016.
TBAAL is the only Arts and African American institution housed in a major urban convention center in the nation.
TBAAL has been the launch pad for notable artists such as Grammy award winner Erykah Badu and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Regina Taylor.
TBAAL produces over 100 programs in theatre, music, dance, visual, literary and cinematic arts each year.
TBAAL is run by a 9 member board of directors, a full time staff and hundreds of volunteers.
Curtis King founded The Black Academy of Arts and Letters on July 17, 1977 at his dining room table with a personal investment of $250.
In June 2015, the mayor and city council of Dallas approved an additional 30-year contractual agreement for TBAAL to continue its operations in the downtown Dallas Convention Center, the permanent home of the institution since January 1989.
In the early 1980s, TBAAL received its first $5,000 grant from the City of Dallas. Since then, support has grown to over $350,000 to support its programs and operations from the City of Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs.
45
Years Running
2,000
Shows & Counting
250,000
SQ. FT VENUE
600,000
Visitors A Year