[1] In response to in Queens later in the 1980s (see e.g. Howard Beach incident), Judge Phillips opened the theater as a space for the local Black community and civil rights work; Al Sharpton started holding weekly rallies at the theater,[4] which he cites as a reason for increased civil rights organizing in Brooklyn at the time.

[5] For example, the Slave Theater was a gathering point for marches (and speeches by Al Sharpton and C. Vernon Mason) following the acquittal of John Vento and Keith Mondello for the murder of Yusef Hawkins in August 1989.

[9] In the confusion, the theater fell into disrepair and was ordered vacated by the city of New York in 2012 after its patio collapsed during a party, injuring four people.

The Slave Theater's manager and friend of Judge Phillips, Clarence Hardy, and his son Omar also claimed ownership of the property at the time.

[18][19] Nonetheless, in December 2016, the lot's new owner Industrie Capital Partners demolished Slave Theater with plans to create a mixed-use development.

Judge Phillips had community artists paint murals all over the interior walls of the theater of heroes from Black history, like Toussaint Louverture, Marcus Garvey, and Malcolm X, as well as one of Bruce Lee.