Black History

Production Observes Journey of Enslaved in America

CHICAGO DEFENDER — As chairman of the social science department at Kennedy-King College, Ted Williams III is always examining the issues that impact Urban communities. In wondering how to commemorate August 2019, the 400-year anniversary acknowledging the first occurrence of an enslaved African being brought to Virginia, Williams decided on “1619: The Journey of a People.” The 90-minute production, 1619, will premiere on August 24 at Kennedy-King College. A preview will take place from 7 – 9 p.m.on Wednesday, June 19 at Bronzeville Community Clubhouse, 3847 S. Giles Ave.

Published

6 years ago

June 28, 2019

Tia Carol Jones

By Tia Carol Jones

As chairman of the social science department at Kennedy-King College, Ted Williams III is always examining the issues that impact Urban communities. In wondering how to commemorate August 2019, the 400-year anniversary acknowledging the first occurrence of an enslaved African being brought to Virginia, Williams decided on “1619: The Journey of a People.” The 90-minute production, 1619, will premiere on August 24 at Kennedy-King College. A preview will take place from 7 – 9 p.m.on Wednesday, June 19 at Bronzeville Community Clubhouse, 3847 S. Giles Ave.

“I am part academic and part performer, so this is a great sort of melding of the two worlds I exist in,” he said. “Performing Arts has a way of reaching people’s hearts and minds.”

Williams said the goal of the production is to create a visually inspiring experience for the audience. He said it isn’t purely a historical piece alone.

“It looks at the journey of the enslaved person and what does it mean to be American today,” he said. “We’ll look at reparations, the National Anthem protest and racial nomenclature.”

Other issues will include the church, which will be explored through some performance pieces, as well as the liberating ideologies of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. The performance will also examine the Black Lives Matter movement from a contemporary perspective and relationships between Black men and Black women.

Williams said he has a wonderful team of dancers, actors and spoken word artists. He said he wants the piece to move and inspire people. It will feature jazz, gospel and hip hop.

“It should make us hopeful about the future and inspire us to where we can go and be,” he said. “I want people to walk away reminded of the past but inspired toward the future.”

Williams said while he has done a lot of commercial work and theater work. This production is something he is most excited about.

“It’s so much bigger than me. I couldn’t be happier for this opportunity,” he said.

He encouraged people to bring their family to the shows.

“People should come ready to have some fun but [to] really be moved in the spirit,” he said. “It will counter some of the unfortunate narratives we see so much in our neighborhoods.”

Williams said there are a lot of things for Black people to be hopeful about.

“We had some challenges, but we have a brighter future,” he said. “It’s important for us to keep the faith and celebrate the uniqueness of our struggle.”

This article originally appeared in the Chicago Defender.

Tia Carol Jones

Posts by Tia Carol Jones

Up Next

“Colored Graveyard” Memorial Garden Dedication Held At SSU

Don't Miss

Parenting Points: Redirecting Your Child’s Attention

Tia Carol Jones

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.