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Ayana Williams, Ph.D. is a 2026 graduate of the PhD Program in Leadership and Change at Antioch University.
Ayana Williams at her Dissertation Defense.
From L-R: Dr. Woden Teachout, Committee Chair, Dr. Nancy Bozill, Committee Member, Dr. Michael Simanga, Committee Member.
Dissertation Committee
- Woden Teachout, PhD, Committee Chair
- Nancy Boxill, PhD, Committee Member
- Michael Simanga, PhD, Committee Member
Keywords
Black Arts Movement, Blues City Cultural Center, Black women in theater, Southern Black arts, creative dissertation, oral history, performance studies, cultural memory
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
This creative dissertation examines the Blues City Cultural Center (BCCC) as a living continuation of the Black Arts Movement in the American South. Founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1979 by Deborah Frazier and Levi Frazier, Jr., BCCC emerged from the cultural and political momentum of the Black Arts and Black Power Movements and continues to sustain their principles through original theater, community-based arts education, and grassroots cultural organizing. Challenging the notion that the Black Arts Movement is a concluded historical period, this study argues that the movement remains ongoing, adaptive, and deeply embedded within Southern Black communities. Using a creative research methodology that combines oral history interviews, memoir reflection, performance, documentary storytelling, and archival research, this dissertation examines BCCC through its institutional history, artistic production, and community engagement. Particular attention is given to the often-overlooked labor and leadership of Black women, especially Deborah Frazier, whose artistic, administrative, and organizational contributions have been foundational to the institution’s longevity and impact. The dissertation also explores the creative and personal partnership between Deborah Frazier and Levi Frazier, Jr., presenting their marriage as a model of shared leadership, artistic collaboration, and cultural stewardship. Central to the study is the playwriting legacy of Levi Frazier, Jr., whose original works portray Southern Black family life, community histories, and lived social realities with nuance, dignity, and cultural specificity, embodying the Black Arts Movement’s commitment to self-definition, cultural memory, and art created by and for the community. Written from the perspective of a daughter raised within the organization and now serving as its executive leader, this dissertation blends scholarly analysis with lived experience to demonstrate how creative practice and performance function as forms of research that generate knowledge, preserve cultural memory, and extend scholarship into the public sphere. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Recommended Citation
Williams, A. (2026). Through the Eyes of a Daughter: Blues City Cultural Center and the Black Arts Movement. https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/1283
Comments
Ayana Williams
ORCID Id: #0009-0002-6539-8200
Ayana C. Williams is a scholar, educator, cultural worker, and Executive Producer of Blues City Cultural Center (BCCC), a historic Black arts institution founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1979 by her parents, Deborah Frazier and Levi Frazier, Jr. Raised within the legacy of the Black Arts Movement, Williams has spent much of her life performing, directing, stage managing, and developing community-centered arts programming that uses theater, storytelling, and creative expression as tools for healing, empowerment, cultural preservation, and social change. Her work centers Black cultural memory, intergenerational legacy, oral history, and the transformative power of the arts within underserved communities.
While continuing her leadership work with Blues City Cultural Center, Williams also serves as an educator at Hanley Elementary in Memphis, Tennessee, where she works with students in a predominantly Black community and remains committed to education, creativity, and youth development. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Memphis and dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Leadership from Grand Canyon University. She earned her Ph.D. from Antioch University’s School of Interdisciplinary and Professional Studies with a concentration in Humanities and Culture and Change Leadership, where her creative dissertation explored Black theater, cultural preservation, oral history, documentary storytelling, and community-based artistic practice through the creation of a documentary film and a live readers’ theater performance that examined Blues City Cultural Center as a living continuation of the Black Arts Movement in the American South.
Williams is also working alongside her parents to preserve, publish, and expand access to the dramatic works of Levi Frazier, Jr. and the artistic works of Deborah Frazier, including Knight Songs, so that their plays, writings, and artistic legacies may reach broader audiences and future generations of artists, educators, and scholars. In July 2026, she will present the story and legacy of BCCC at the Black Theatre Network Conference as part of her continued commitment to amplifying Black theater, family legacy, and community cultural work.
As a proud daughter, sister, mother, wife, aunt, and grandmother, Williams believes deeply in the power of family, storytelling, education, and the arts to build stronger communities, inspire future generations, and create meaningful social change.
Creative Dissertation Documentary:
https://youtu.be/nzIAazK2TAQ?si=et06jP-YJk1z-FE0