TITLE: Congratulating Curtis King on his receipt of a 2025 Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.

SUMMARY: Congratulating Curtis King on his receipt of a 2025 Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.

FULL TEXT:
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. Y. Davis of Dallas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 769 was adopted by the House on April 17, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 125, Nays 15, 2 present, not voting. Chief Clerk of the House