Black Broadway Men Inc. has renamed their annual Playwriting Initiative for Jesse L. Keaney.

Kearney, who died March 6 after undergoing emergency brain surgery, was an award-winning playwright whose works included Making Michaeux, The Oscar Micheaux Project, The Little Playhouse, and more. Kearney was a recipient of the Dramatists Guild's Jonathan Larson Musical Theater Fellowship and the Lazarus Family Musical Theater Award, among other honors. A graduate of New York Law School and NYU's Musical Theatre MFA writing program, he served as president of Prospect Theater Company, and was the vice president of Black Broadway Men United.

READ: Playwright Jesse L. Kearney, Jr. Dies at 49

“Jesse would be over the moon about this," shared Anthony Wayne, founder and executive director of BBMI. "Knowing the memory of his legacy will stay etched in this organization to uplift the powerful words of many is truly a gift to us all. I am grateful for the brotherly gift he was to me and I can't wait for the principles he worked so hard for in this organization to live on through every person connected to this initiative.”

The Jesse L. Kearney Playwriting Initiative provides Black Male-identifying playwrights the opportunity to be selected for a 29-hour reading of their original work, sponsored by BBM. Each awarded playwright receives $1,000, and is provided a director and a professional cast to present their invite-only reading in New York City. Additionally, each awarded playwright is given mentorship opportunities through BBM's working mentor roster. 

Applications for the next round will open January 15. For more information or to donate to this initiative, visit BlackBroadwayMen.org.