Urbanite Theatre walked away from $40,230 in Sarasota County grant money rather than sign a compliance form tied to Florida's new anti-DEI law, the only local arts group known to have rejected the requirement, according to Suncoast Searchlight.
The small theater's co-founder and producing artistic director, Summer Wallace, refused to sign the acknowledgment for Urbanite's 2026-27 Main Stage Season. She is already projecting a financial loss next year and scrambling for donations.
"As an arts leader and theater maker, what I'm reckoning with is that it does not feel good taking grants that can't be utilized for those programs," Wallace told Suncoast Searchlight. "Technically, I think we could be fine, but it goes into the matter of ethical theater making."
Urbanite's upcoming season includes "Black Bastard," a play touching on race, and "1999," about gender and the #MeToo movement. Its mission statement commits to "inclusive, artist-first storytelling."
What the law requires
Senate Bill 1134, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 22 in Jacksonville, prohibits counties and municipalities from funding or promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, but Sarasota County is already requiring grant applicants to acknowledge the law before receiving funds.
The law defines DEI as any effort to use race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation to influence hiring, provide preferential treatment or promote programming and activities. Any resident can sue their county for relief and damages if a court finds public funds went toward DEI, and a county official who violates the law commits misfeasance or malfeasance in office.
State Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, sponsored the bill. It passed the Senate 25-11 and the House 77-37.
$2.1 million in grants at stake
The requirement applies to all 34 organizations recommended for a share of $2.1 million in tourist-development cultural grants this cycle, according to county spokesperson Josh Taylor. The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County administers the program, which uses tourism tax dollars to support events and performances that draw visitors.
Recommended awards range from $22,768 for WSLR+Fogartyville's concert series to $118,585 for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens' Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition.
Alliance CEO Brian Hersh said the organization shared the acknowledgment form with applicants to ensure they were informed of the new contract language.
WBTT signs reluctantly
The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, recommended for more than $100,000 for its "Rhapsodies of Rhythm" season, initially planned not to sign. Executive director Julie Leach ultimately decided to after deliberation.
Leach told Suncoast Searchlight the law's vagueness worries her, noting that someone could sue the county simply because WBTT has "Black in our name" and all its programming centers on the Black experience in America. She called the law "a perfect example of state overreach" and said the county is caught in the middle.
WBTT, founded in 1999 by Nate Jacobs, is the only professional Black theater company on Florida's west coast.
WSLR+Fogartyville general manager Jesse Coleman also signed, telling Suncoast Searchlight the grant funding is narrow in scope and that the station's values are funded by its community, not a single grant.
What happens next
The Arts and Cultural Alliance will present its full $2.1 million grant slate to the Sarasota County Commission at the board's Wednesday, Aug. 26 meeting, according to Hersh. The review was initially scheduled for July before being postponed.
The grants are reimbursement-based, meaning the county's Parks and Recreation Department would determine after the fact whether an organization violated the DEI law and must forfeit funds.
Residents can attend the Aug. 26 commission meeting or contact commissioners before that date to weigh in on the grant recommendations.
