Bern Theatre

Several African-American theatres operated in New Bern, North Carolina from the 1910’s until the early-1950’s. The first theatre catering to African Americans may have been Ford’s Theatre. Other early theatres were the Colored Theatre, the Dixie Theatre, the Lincoln Theatre, the Globe Theatre, and the Palace Theatre. The New Bern Historical Society has written that “by the outbreak of World War II, the majority of New Bern’s citizens for the first time since before the Civil War were White.”

Having an African American majority population may have provided the opportunity for a seemingly large number of black theatres. New Bern is a fairly small town with a 2020 census population of 31,291. New Bern was the first state capital of North Carolina; and the birthplace of Pepsi Cola.

Located in the Five Point district (a known African American district) on possibly Broad Street, the Bern Theatre was one of the last African American theatres to open in New Bern. The exact opening date wasn’t found but based on press releases in the trade periodicals, it occurred in February or the first week in March of 1947. The number of seats was stated as 450, and the capacity in another periodical was given as 580. The owners of the theatre were Cedric Boyd and J.P. Overman. The Bern Theatre was air conditioned and had a large stage for “flesh attractions”. The Bern Theatre appears in the ‘Negro’ Theatres section of the Film Daily Yearbook of 1947 and 1948. It is not listed in 1950 and 1951.

The only African American New Bern theatres that I found operating in the 1950’s were the Ritz Theatre which was listed in 1950 and 1951. The Starlite Drive-In, “a Negro drive-in,” opened in 1952.

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