The University of Chicago will host the traveling theater production 1619: The Journey of a People, a Musical to commemorate the Juneteenth holiday. The production will be held at the university’s Logan Center for the Arts at 915 E. 60th Street from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The musical commemorates the struggle for survival and equality as it highlights the stories of African Americans since the year 1619, the year in which the first enslaved Africans arrived in America.
1619: The Journey of a People showcases various musical forms, including hip-hop, jazz, and blues, to share African Americans’ stories of triumphs and turbulence. In the musical, three modern characters lead audience members on a journey through multiple performance pieces leaving viewers both inspired and challenged about the progress of America’s African sons and daughters.
The producer, Ted Williams III, created the musical during his teaching sabbatical project at Kennedy-King College (KKC). Williams is Chairman of the Social Science Department and a Professor of Political Science at KKC, and he has taught at various area universities. A graduate of the University of Chicago and Rutgers University, Williams has worked as a media personality and actor. He has appeared in national commercials, film, and television shows, including The Chi, The Christmas Thief, and Chicago P.D. Williams is the writer of TORN the Musical and the book The Way Out: Christianity, Politics, and the Future of the African American Community. In addition, he is a former candidate for the Chicago City Council.
Williams is excited to share his performance at his alma mater. He reflects, “I greatly desired to engage in the social justice movement when I started at the University of Chicago. Obama was on campus teaching, and there was real excitement about work that positively impacted marginalized communities. Among my classmates, most of us didn’t know where we’d land. Yet, our hearts were in similar places-we wanted to affect change. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to come back and share this important production.” Williams plans to create a lasting history lesson through the production, which takes the audience through hundreds of years and pivotal events shaping this nation’s culture. “I hope this experience and educational expressions like it can move us towards a more understanding, peaceful, and just society,” said Williams. With an appeal to all ages, 1619 features a dynamic cast of singers, actors, dancers, and spoken word artists who reflect on the past while tackling critical contemporary social issues. “The history conveyed in the 1619 Musical is not just African American history but American history,” concludes Williams. “It is incumbent upon all of us to understand where we’ve come from to navigate where we are going.”
Early Bird and group tickets for 1619: The Journey of A People, The Musical are available at 312-602-9642, www.1619musical.com, and https://www.eventbrite.com/e/462653628457.
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