Whitney LeBlanc

Whitney LeBlanc

In 1965, Whitney Leblanc became the first Black faculty member at Towson University, as a professor in the theatre department. He attained a B.A. in dramatics from Southern University and an M.F.A. in set design from the University of Iowa in 1959. Before coming to Towson University, he worked at numerous universities, including Howard University in Washington D.C.

 As the only Black faculty member during this time, Leblanc faced discrimination and prejudice due to the color of his skin. Though his experience at Towson was unwelcoming, Leblanc was instrumental in the integration of the workplace.

Leblanc directed numerous productions during his time at Towson University, one of them being And People All Around, written by George Sklar. This play that Leblanc directed altered the History of Towson University, and the 1966 Governors election.

The play received backlash from Klansmen college students due to the civil right themes that were prominent in the play. Protestors were found at the opening of Leblanc’s production dressed in Klan regalia, and other protestors would wear hats and patches with George P. Mahoney’s name on them.

George P. Mahoney was a candidate running for Maryland governor and was a widely known segregationist in the democrat party. Mahoney was ready to put laws in place that would limit the efforts of integration. This publicity from the protest at Leblanc’s production exposed George Mahoney’s entanglement with the Klan. This, as LeBlanc claims in an oral history, would lead to Mahoney’s loss in the election to his opponent Spiro T. Agnew.

Leblanc also started the Theatre U Program at TU with his then wife Elizabeth Walton, a dancer at the Paul Taylor Dance Company. The program sought to integrate faculty and students through the arts of theatre and dance. Even with good turn out in the program, Theatre U ended after three years.

Though not often credited for his work, Leblanc significantly contributed to the design of the Main Stage Theatre for the Center of performing arts building here at Towson.

After leaving Towson University in 1969, he directed and produced 86 episodes of Our Street and was an associate director of Good Times. Leblanc wrote numerous books throughout his career, such as Blues in the Wind in 2001, and Portrait in 2017.

Whitney Leblanc passed away on February 9th of 2023 at the age of 91. Today, the Towson Black Alumni Alliance (TBAA) is working to name the auditorium he designed so he is given credit.

 

This wiki entry was created in collaboration with Sarafina Bryant-Miller, a summer 2024 intern in Towson University’s Special Collections and University Archives department, and student at Notre Dame Preparatory high school in Towson, Maryland. If you have feedback on the content, please contact us through email (scua@towson.edu).