An HBCU has named its performing arts theater after music legend Dionne Warwick.
According to HuffPost, Bowie State University, a historically Black university in Maryland, recently named the theater inside of its Fine and Performing Arts Center "The Dionne Warwick Theater."
Bowie State is “a traditional Black college, and with us losing so many of them, this is a fine promotion to give. [Historically Black colleges and universities] are still very vital, not only to our existence but to the world,” Warwick remarked.
The Dionne Warwick Theater is the first performing arts venue named after the Grammy award-winning singer.
Warwick, a longtime advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, has ties to the university through previous visits to its wellness center, where she has been “absolutely blown away by the work they do there.”
Considering the vocalist's background as a humanitarian, Tewodross Williams said the decision was easy to name the theater after Warwick.
“We’re not only trying to create artists and creatives, but we want to create what I call socially engaged artists,” said Williams, associate professor and chair of the university’s fine and performing arts department. “We want our students to be connected socially, globally, and politically in terms of the world and what affects them. We encourage our students to use their art for social change.”
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