89R21160 BPG-D
By: Y. Davis of Dallas H.R. No. 769
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Curtis King of Dallas was named the recipient of the
2025 Outstanding Texan Award for House District 111 by the Texas
Legislative Black Caucus; and
WHEREAS, A director and producer, Mr. King founded The Black
Academy of Arts and Letters in 1977; he serves as president of the
acclaimed nonprofit institution, which is headquartered in the Kay
Bailey Hutchison Convention Center; each year, it draws more than
250,000 visitors with its programming, which celebrates the
African, Caribbean, and African American experience through
literature, cinema, and the visual and performing arts; and
WHEREAS, The academy has presented hundreds of productions
over the years, showcasing such stars as Jennifer Holliday, Ruby
Dee, and Dave Chapelle; its youth programs have been an important
incubator for local talent, and its famous alumni include
singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, musician Roy Hargrove, and actor
Regina Taylor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. King has created, directed, and produced a host
of musical tributes, plays, concerts, and other cultural events in
Dallas and around the world; among scores of notable projects, he
wrote and directed Blues Bar, a play that starred Phyllis Hyman,
Billy Preston, and Roger E. Mosley, and he directed Bethune, a
one-woman vehicle for Esther Rolle that toured six cities; in 1993,
he produced a concert commemorating the 30th anniversary of the
March on Washington that featured an array of celebrities, from CBS
Evening News anchor Dan Rather to superstar Eartha Kitt and
comedian Dick Gregory; as part of a U.S. State Department cultural
exchange, he collaborated with writers in Ethiopia and directed
Addia By Night; the recipient of myriad accolades, he won four Lone
Star Region Emmy Awards for The Black Music & Civil Rights Movement
Concert, an annual televised special that aired in partnership with
the Dallas area's CBS affiliate, and he received the African
American Black History Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of
Labor and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National
Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts; and
WHEREAS, Through his outstanding endeavors in advancement of
the arts, Curtis King has enriched the lives of innumerable people,
and he is indeed deserving of this prestigious honor; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Curtis King on his receipt of a
2025 Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black
Caucus and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. King as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.