{"id":2605,"date":"2025-02-19T03:44:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T08:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/?p=2605"},"modified":"2025-02-19T03:44:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T08:44:54","slug":"brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2605-brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn&#8217;s &#8220;Slave Theater&#8221; \u2013 A Reminder of Origins and Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For many residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant, home to Brooklyn\u2019s largest African American community, The Slave Theater on Fulton Street was more than just a building\u2014it was a symbol. Its name was always controversial. Who would want to be reminded of slavery, especially when going to see a play or a movie? But by all accounts, that was exactly why the theater\u2019s founder, Judge John L. Phillips, chose that name. Read more about the history of Brooklyn\u2019s African American theater on <a href=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/\">brooklyn-trend.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0b05830b1a4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0b05830b1a4\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2605-brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity\/#From_%E2%80%9CThe_Regent%E2%80%9D_to_%E2%80%9CThe_Slave_Theater%E2%80%9D\" >From &#8220;The Regent&#8221; to &#8220;The Slave Theater&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2605-brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity\/#The_Birth_of_%E2%80%9CThe_Slave_Theater%E2%80%9D\" >The Birth of &#8220;The Slave Theater&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2605-brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity\/#A_Community_Hub_for_Activism\" >A Community Hub for Activism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/eternal-2605-brooklyns-slave-theater-a-reminder-of-origins-and-identity\/#The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Phillips_Empire\" >The Rise and Fall of Phillips&#8217; Empire<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_%E2%80%9CThe_Regent%E2%80%9D_to_%E2%80%9CThe_Slave_Theater%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>From &#8220;The Regent&#8221; to &#8220;The Slave Theater&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"928\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/1-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2606\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/1-13.jpg 928w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/1-13-278x300.jpg 278w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/1-13-768x828.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/1-13-696x750.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The theater at 1215 Fulton Street, originally named The Regent, had been in existence since 1914. At the time, downtown Brooklyn was filled with theaters, performance halls, and entertainment venues, many of which lined Fulton Street. This particular theater stood just below the local bank building. The Regent was always a second-tier theater. An unknown architect designed it as a classic performance space with a sloped seating area facing an orchestra pit, beyond which was a proscenium stage. The venue was built for vaudeville shows, theatrical productions, and film screenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a capacity of just 534 seats, it was relatively small. The building\u2019s second floor, which had a separate entrance, was rented out as office space. The theater\u2019s d\u00e9cor was not like most others. It wasn\u2019t a lavish entertainment palace but rather an intimate concert hall with 18th-century elegance. It featured coffered ceilings, elegant chandeliers and sconces, and simple walls with decorative plasterwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge John L. Phillips purchased the theater in 1984. He had also invested in about 10 residential properties, some near his own home on nearby Herkimer Street. Judge Phillips was well known in the Bed-Stuy community and was often called &#8220;The Kung-Fu Judge.&#8221; A striking figure, he was a Black judge on Brooklyn\u2019s Civil Court bench at a time when there were still very few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phillips held a 10th-degree black belt in martial arts and, in his free time, opened a dojo in the community, where he taught his own fighting style called the Scientific Movement and Defensive Combat System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also clashed with Brooklyn\u2019s political establishment\u2014both Black and white\u2014preferring to remain independent from the powerful Brooklyn Democratic boss Meade Esposito and District Attorney Charles &#8220;Joe&#8221; Hynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early 1980s, Judge Phillips produced a film about an interracial love story, which he personally funded. When he couldn\u2019t find a theater willing to screen it, he bought the old Regent Theater and premiered it there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Birth_of_%E2%80%9CThe_Slave_Theater%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>The Birth of &#8220;The Slave Theater&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"726\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/2-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2609\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/2-13.jpg 726w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/2-13-272x300.jpg 272w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/2-13-696x767.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 726px) 100vw, 726px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Phillips renamed the theater &#8220;The Slave Theater&#8221; as a constant reminder to the community, including himself, of where they came from. He was unfazed by the fact that many in the neighborhood found the name offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He first renovated the exterior, then turned his attention to the interior. He commissioned artists to paint murals covering the walls, depicting Black historical figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey, and Toussaint Louverture. The theater even featured a portrait of kung fu legend Bruce Lee. Despite the mixed feelings about the name, there was a general consensus in Bed-Stuy that having The Slave Theater was a great thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Community_Hub_for_Activism\"><\/span>A Community Hub for Activism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/3-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/3-13.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/3-13-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/3-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.brooklyn-trend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/3-13-696x464.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By the 1960s, nearly all of the manufacturing businesses in the neighborhood had moved away. For much of the century, Bed-Stuy had a thriving commercial core centered around Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue, but by the 1980s, most of the old shops had been abandoned by their owners, leaving behind empty storefronts. New businesses sold only the cheapest goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unemployment, poverty, and the rise of crack cocaine did little to help Bed-Stuy shake off its reputation as &#8220;America\u2019s worst ghetto.&#8221; But that didn\u2019t stop people from trying to bring about positive change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Phillips turned his theater into a hub for community activism. He allowed The Slave Theater to serve as a meeting place for Rev. Al Sharpton and other activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The theater hosted Wednesday night rallies and became a base for organizing marches and protests, helping to spark a new movement for social justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Phillips_Empire\"><\/span>The Rise and Fall of Phillips&#8217; Empire<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>New York City\u2019s Black community had long centered around Harlem, where its major leaders lived. But Sharpton and others shifted focus away from Harlem and onto Brooklyn, making Bed-Stuy a new focal point for activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For several years, The Slave Theater was a thriving center for community engagement. The space was used for lectures, activism, and church services. A local church even rented the upper floor for its services. Judge Phillips had envisioned a place where Black pride could shine\u2014and he saw that vision come to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, his dream collapsed when he lost everything\u2014including his mental health. What followed was one of Brooklyn\u2019s most egregious cases of fraud, misconduct, and embezzlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2001, two doctors diagnosed early dementia in Judge Phillips, and the court appointed a legal guardian to manage his assets. That guardian amassed $2 million in tax debts and embezzled over $400,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Phillips died in 2008, the victim of neglect, freezing to death in a nursing home. Today, Phillips&#8217; empire is gone. Thankfully, he didn\u2019t live long enough to see its complete downfall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For many residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant, home to Brooklyn\u2019s largest African American community, The Slave Theater on Fulton Street was more than just a building\u2014it was a symbol. Its name was always controversial. Who would want to be reminded of slavery, especially when going to see a play or a movie? But by all accounts, that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":422,"featured_media":2615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[1249,1245,1169,1252,1253,1248,1254,1242,1244,1241,1250,1246,1243,1251,1247],"motype":[160],"moformat":[20],"moimportance":[32,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-2605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-teatrs","8":"tag-al-sharpton-meetings","9":"tag-bed-stuy-landmarks","10":"tag-bedford-stuyvesant","11":"tag-black-activism-brooklyn","12":"tag-black-history-brooklyn","13":"tag-brooklyn-civil-court-judge","14":"tag-brooklyn-cultural-history","15":"tag-brooklyn-slave-theater","16":"tag-brooklyn-social-justice","17":"tag-community-activism-nyc","18":"tag-fulton-street-theater","19":"tag-historic-black-theaters","20":"tag-john-l-phillips","21":"tag-lost-brooklyn-theaters","22":"tag-new-york-gentrification","23":"motype-eternal","24":"moformat-vlasna","25":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","26":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/422"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2618,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions\/2618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooklyn-trend.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=2605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}