Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, is proud to present the Black Power Series: Invoking the Black Archive. In conjunction with the world premiere of Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution, the Black Power Series is a collection of public talks, artist responses, archival showings, and exhibitions that explore the monumentality of Black contributions to American history and culture.
The Black Power Series is comprised of three events:
Agora Series: Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution: Thursday, May 23 at Woodson Regional Library (9525 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 60628)
An Evening with Roy Kinsey: A Legacy Project: Thursday, June 6 at the Poetry Foundation (61 W Superior St., Chicago, IL, 60654)
A Presentation by Damon Locks: Past, Present, and Future: Monday, June 10 at Blanc Gallery (4445 S Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago, IL, 60653)
Each event location features an exhibition in conjunction with the Black Power Series.
Participants include Theodore R. Foster III, PhD; Roy Kinsey; Damon Locks; Faheem Majeed; and Court’s Director of Engagement, Kamilah Rashied.
“When I think of any art form’s legacy, I think of unfinished business,” shares Director of Engagement and Creative Producer Kamilah Rashied. “How art exists not to solve the problems of this world, but to reflect them. Our work is to interpret this art – to mine it for meaning – right now. This is the compass that has guided our programs for the Black Power Series. Comprised of talks, archival explorations, and artist responses honoring the monumentality of Black creativity, this series conjures counter-narratives that imagine an expansive and liberatory Afrofuture. I can’t wait to share these programs with audiences and be in conversation with them."
All events in the Black Power Series are free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved online at CourtTheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at (773) 753-4472.
The Black Power Series is sponsored in part by the Poetry Foundation, and is programmed in partnership with Blanc Gallery; the Vivian G. Harsh Collection Research Collection at Woodson Regional Library; Chicago Public Library; and the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago.
Agora Series: Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution
The Agora Series is comprised of public discussions in which thinkers, creatives, and activists share bold ideas and shed light on the lived experiences of Chicagoans today; these discussions connect the ideas on Court’s stage with current events. This installment of the Agora Series complements the world premiere of Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution.
When articulating how he defined “Black Power”, Stokely Carmichael interpreted it as “a call for Black People in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage and build a sense of community”. Chief among his goals, and that of many of Stokley’s contemporaries, was the establishment of spaces for Black thought and Black studies – for the present and for posterity. These efforts fostered a spirit of solidarity and bolstered the organizing power of a critically engaged Black America, across a diverse range of liberatory approaches and perspectives. In the second installment of this year’s Agora Series we’ll be in conversation with scholars and artist educators who invoke Black archives to proliferate and preserve the culture today.
Participants include Theodore R. Foster III, PhD; Roy Kinsey; Damon Locks; Faheem Majeed; and Kamilah Rashied.
This event is presented in partnership with the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection at Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library, and the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago. Selections from the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection at Woodson Regional Library will be available for public viewing both before and after this event.
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Woodson Regional Library (9525 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, 60628)
Doors: 5:00pm
Conversation: 5:30pm
An Evening with Roy Kinsey: A Legacy Project
Chicago native, rapper, and librarian Roy Kinsey credits Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns as a foundational text that has deeply informed his lyricism as an MC. In An Evening with Roy Kinsey: A Legacy Project, an intimate presentation at the Poetry Foundation, Kinsey will share more about the Black storytellers who have been essential to shaping his craft, the urgency of preserving of Black literary culture through rap music, and his history.
Kinsey’s tenth studio album, A Westside Story: A Legacy Project, due fall 2024, firmly focuses on growing up in an ever-changing Chicago. Part listening session, part performance, and part album discussion, An Evening with Roy Kinsey: A Legacy Project gives audience members a rare look behind the veil into Kinsey’s creative process.
This event is sponsored in part by the Poetry Foundation and curated selections from the Poetry Foundation’s special collection will be available for public viewing prior to the event.
Date: June 6, 2024
Location: Poetry Foundation (61 W Superior St., Chicago, IL, 60654)
Doors: 6:30pm
Conversation: 7:00pm
A Special Presentation by Damon Locks: Past, Present, and Future
Visual artist, educator, and musician Damon Locks bridges the divide between vintage records; voices of the past; and new, familiar ambient sounds. In his visual work, as much as his work as a music and sound artist, Locks weaves grooves into a sonic loop that collapses time. In celebration of the world premiere of Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution, Damon Locks will share an artist’s response to this new work in conversation with the current exhibition at Blanc Gallery, Frontline Profit: James Baldwin, exploring the parallels between Black history, Black activism, and Black artistry.
Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin is exhibited at Blanc Gallery from May 25 – June 30. A year-long traveling exhibition featuring the artwork of Detroit-based creative Sabrina Nelson, Frontline consists of more than 40 works on paper and canvas, sketchbooks, installations, and video in celebration of Baldwin’s centennial birthday. These visual and sonic pieces have been culled from the lectures, writings, and social-political themes in Baldwin’s work on critical culture, identity, race, and sexuality. Nelson will collaborate with local visual artists, musical artists, and writers to design dedicated works and programming focused on liberation and justice. Frontline originally opened The Interchurch Center in Harlem in July 2023, and will exhibit in seven cities through August 2024. The exhibition has been co-curated by Ashara Ekundayo and Omo Misha.
This event is sponsored in part by the Poetry Foundation, and is presented in partnership with Blanc Gallery. Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin is available for viewing before and after the event
Date: June 10, 2024
Location: Blanc Gallery (4445 S Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago, IL, 60653)
Doors: 6:00pm
Conversation: 6:30pm
About the Participants
KAMILAH RASHIED (Creative Producer) is the Director of Engagement at Court Theatre. Rashied is an arts administrator, producer, educator, and artist with 20 years of experience in cultural production, education, and community outreach. Cultivating a broad range of programs for the public, ranging from youth initiatives to live events and talks, Rashied has contributed to the development of new and ongoing programs at many venerable arts and culture organizations in Chicago including: the Art Institute of Chicago, the School at the Art Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, Illinois Humanities, Arts Alliance Illinois, Rebuild Foundation, OTV (Open Television), Hyde Park Art Center, Young Chicago Authors, Writers Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, among others.
KELCIE BEENE (Line Producer) is the Engagement Programs Manager at Court Theatre. She has over fifteen years of experience as a freelance producer and production manager for theatre, special events, television, and film. Kelcie spent ten years as a Producing Ambassador for the 24 Hour Company in New York, producing their gala events in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Germany, and Mexico. As a production manager, Kelcie helmed works for BAM Next Wave, The Play Company NYC, LifeLike Touring, and GLAMOUR. As a theatre producer, Kelcie has led over a dozen full-length productions in venues such as Cherry Lane Studio, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Theatre Row, and Joe’s Pub. Other producing credits include site-specific events for Global Citizen and The BEAT Festival in Brooklyn, NY.
THEODORE R. FOSTER III, PHD (Presenter) is a Black Studies scholar specializing in the production of historical memories of the modern civil rights movement, Black visual culture, and neoliberalism within Black political thought. His research focuses on how memorials, commemorations, activists, politicians, and artists visualize and narrate the history of the 1960s Black Freedom Movement through divergent political lenses. His book project is titled The Firehose Next Time: Civil Rights Memory, Neoliberalism, and Black Visual Culture. Dr. Foster is currently an Assistant Professor in History and African American Studies at Benedictine University.
ROY KINSEY (Presenter/Performer) is an anomaly when it comes to tradition in his respective industries. Where being a Black, queer-identified, rapper, and librarian may be an intimidating choice for some, Roy Kinsey’s non-conformist ideology has informed his poignant releases, BLACKIE: A Story by Roy Kinsey, Kinsey: A Memoir, and most recently 3 RINGS. KINSEY: A Memoir and Blackie: A Story by Roy Kinsey capture the darkness of his shadow work, as sinister yet sincere lyrics provide a potent musical performance by Kinsey. Gracing the covers of prominent publications like Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, Billboard, LA Times, NPR, WBEZ’s Vocalo, and WGCI to name a few, this coverage proves that Kinsey’s goal to preserve rap as a literary art form resonates. His contributions are offerings to the canon of Black queer literature and hip-hop. Kinsey’s visual for his record BSAYF (B****, She Ain’t You Friend) – exploring Black queer identity, friendship, and spirituality – premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Harold Washington Cultural Center and the Du Sable Museum. Kinsey has shared his lyrics on the stages of the legendary Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, the Silver Room Block Party, Pride at the Park in Grant Park, First Avenue in Minnesota, Thalia Hall, Soho House, Empty Bottle, and House of Blues.
DAMON LOCKS (Presenter/Performer) is a Chicago-based visual artist, educator, and vocalist/musician. Since 2014, he has been working with the Prison and Neighborhood Arts Project at the Stateville Correctional Center teaching art. He spent four years as an Artist in Residence as a part of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s SPACE Program, introducing civically engaged art into the curriculum at Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy High School. He currently teaches Improvisation in the Sound Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Damon leads the Black Monument Ensemble, is a member of New Future City Radio and Exploding Star Orchestra, and is a co-founder of the band The Eternals.
FAHEEM MAJEED (Presenter) is an artist, educator, curator, and community facilitator. He blends his unique experience as a non-profit administrator, curator, and artist to create works that focus on institutional critique and exhibitions that leverage collaboration to engage his immediate, and the broader community, in meaningful dialogue. He is the co-founder/co-director of the arts collective Floating Museum. Majeed received his BFA from Howard University and his MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Winner of the 2022 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Court Theatre reimagines classic theatre to illuminate our current times. In residence at the University of Chicago and on Chicago’s historic South Side, we engage our audiences with intimate and provocative experiences that inspire deeper exploration of the enduring questions that confront humanity and connect us as people.