New Heritage Theatre Group (NHTG), the oldest Black nonprofit theater company in New York City, turns 60 years old this year! They held their anniversary gala at The City College Center for the Arts in Harlem.
“To another 60 years to come, to our staff, to the new vision, and to the roads we’re going to travel,” said NHTG Executive Producer Voza Rivers. “Thank you so much.”
NHTG was established in 1964 by playwright and actor Roger Furman. He created the group to present entertaining, informative, and quality productions and to preserve and institutionalize classic works of Black theater. Rivers was entrusted with the reins of the company in 1983, after Furman’s death. He changed the name from New Heritage Repertory Theatre to New Heritage Theatre Group. In 1997, Jamal Joseph became the executive artistic director. Rivers and Joseph worked together to create groundbreaking youth programming, like the IMPACT Repertory Theatre.
NHTG was home to legendary talents such as poet Sonia Sanchez, actress Ruby Dee, and performer Harry Belafonte.
Ariama C. Long photos
Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Laurie Cumbo (left) and NHTG Executive Producer Voza Rivers (right) at the Gala. 
Manhattan Deputy Borough President Keisha Sutton and her mom with NHTG Gala attendees. 
Manhattan Deputy Borough President Keisha Sutton presents a proclamation to NHTG Executive Producer Voza Rivers at the Gala on Dec. 16. 
IMPACT Repertory Theatre youth performers sang, ‘Raise It Up’ at the NHTG Gala.
Rivers is slated to retire in the near future. At the Gala celebration, he was surrounded by family and longtime friends as well as avid supporters of the Black arts and elected officials. Manhattan Deputy Borough President Keisha Sutton presented him with a city proclamation from Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, dubbing December 16 officially New Heritage Repertory Theatre Appreciation Day.
“As soon as the invitation came in, I said we have to get a proclamation to celebrate this moment,” said Sutton. “Everyone that has been a pillar of this institution has preserved, incubated, and grown an incredible institution that has done great work for the community and the arts to lift up who we are. To lift up our culture. I wanted to be here to say thank you for that personally.”
Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Laurie Cumbo, who has known and worked with Rivers for years, was excited to honor Rivers’s lifetime of service to the arts. She credited Rivers, and other theater legends at NHTG, with spearheading the theaters of color initiative.
“They fought to make sure that the City Council allocated eight Black and Latino theaters in New York City so that they could get major and consistent dollars into their community,” said Cumbo. “What was so powerful was that when I became a city councilmember, I was able to take that eight to 54. It was a passing of the baton, and we need to continue the passing of batons so that the next generation can build and expand on what we did.”