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Interviewee: Brad Brewer

Interviewer: Steven Payne

Transcription by the Bronx Historical Society

Summary by Hatoumata Tunkara

August 22, 2021

Disciplines

African American Studies

Abstract

Born in Washington, D.C., Brad Brewer moved to New York City as a child when his father joined the New York Police Department. His family first lived in Queens briefly before settling in the Soundview section of the Bronx. After his parents separated, he, his mother, stepfather, and sisters moved to Wakefield, where he spent his teenage years. His maternal family is from Virginia, and his paternal family is from South Carolina. And as a child, he usually visited family in Piney River and Lynchburg, Virginia.

Brewer discovered puppetry at an early age. By the time he was ten years old, he owned nearly one hundred puppets and staged shows from his Soundview apartment, charging neighborhood children admission. His sisters worked as ticket collectors and ushers, while he did stage design, storytelling, and music. His shows, such as Red Riding Hood Meets Godzilla, were lively and community-driven. When his family moved, he continued performing at community centers and birthday parties, creating what would become his career in puppetry.

In the late 60s and early 70s, he became involved in the Black Panther Party in New York. He worked out of the Panther office on Boston Road, where a group of members ran programs including free breakfasts, daycare, and political education. Brewer’s responsibilities included producing flyers on mimeograph machines, maintaining the newspaper distribution (the chapter achieved the highest circulation in the country after headquarters), and helping to organize protests against unjust firings and arrests. The office served as a neighborhood hub, known as the “Black Community Information Center.”

Brewer once proposed using puppetry to tell the Panthers’ story on a large scale, but the idea was not pursued. As the Party split and members faced violence, distrust, and internal chaos, Brewer chose to step away. Within a year of leaving the Panthers, he enrolled at Pratt Institute to pursue his artistic training.

Brewer went on and found the Brewery Puppet Troupe, becoming a pioneering African American puppeteer and cultural worker. His puppets have been shown at the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of the City of New York, and other major outlets. He is the only African American puppeteer to have performed on Broadway, appeared in a major motion picture, and been featured on network television.

Today, Brewer lives in Nassau County. His Bronx upbringing, Southern family ties, activism, and lifelong devotion to puppetry built his career as both an artist and a community voice.

Link to Video Recording: https://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/baahp/id/59/rec/7

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