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This collection contains the papers of Ernie McClintock (1937-2003), an American director, producer, actor, writer, teacher, and theatre artist who was a major force in the Black Arts Movement. He taught acting to hundreds of students across the country and directed award-winning plays in Harlem, New York (1960-1989), and Richmond, Virginia (1989-2003). The McClintock papers are a living archive for future drama students and communities interested in Black theatre. They represent the works and dreams of a Black and Gay theatre director who persisted in giving voice to the Black and multicultural communities where he lived. His work spanned beyond one dimensional categories, and he was well-known behind the scenes with famous actors, directors, and playwrights, and was the recipient of seven prestigious Audelco awards for excellence in Black theater. He worked with Tupac Shakur, Ossie Davis, James Earl Jones, Felicia Rashad, Morgan Freeman, Lou Gossett, Jr., Dr. Walter Turnbull, Woody King, Jr. and others. McClintock was committed to world class excellence in theatre and to introducing more Black theatre productions to the community. He directed over two hundred performances from classics like A Raisin in the Sun to Tupac Shakur's Rose Grew Out of Cement, and new plays written by young playwrights and actors like Derome Scott Smith in R.I.O.T. or Jerome Hairston. His personal papers and theatre papers are combined because his life and family were inseparable from the theatre. He also won the Billy Graham artistic excellence award in 2002. (There are two scripts in the collection written by Billy Graham about Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis). Too expansive to put in one category, anyone studying Black Theatre Arts will repeatedly come across the exemplary work of Ernie McClintock.