| Summary: | Arts administrator and theater executive Barbara Ann Teer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois on June 18, 1937. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in dance education, Teer moved to New York City, where she began her career as an actress, dancer and director. In the 1960s, Teer left her lucrative show business career to teach young people at Harlem's Wadleigh Junior High School. Her teaching methods helped to develop the Group Theatre Workshop, the foundation for the renowned Negro Ensemble Company. In 1968, she founded the National Black Theatre with the mission of maintaining and developing African American cultural traditions. Expanding the purpose and vision of the National Black Theatre, she purchased a 64,000 square foot city block on 125th Street and Fifth Avenue creating the first revenue generating black art complex in the country. Teer passed away on July 21, 2008 at the age of 71.
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