Hypocrisy of Justice: Sights and Sounds from the Black Metropolis
“Hypocrisy of Justice: Sights and Sounds from the Black Metropolis” began with drummer, educator, and composer Dana Hall’s interest in creating an original multidisciplinary work exploring Richard Wright’s novel Native Son on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the publishing of the novel. With a commission from Symphony Center Presents, Hall collaborated with dramaturg/writer/director/actor Cheryl Lynn Bruce and artist Kerry James Marshall to stage the project in June 2015.
In collaboration with the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The Reva and David Logan Center, and the University of Chicago Presents, this extraordinary program reconvenes and commissions Hall, Bruce, and Marshall to further develop and restage the work, which explores through visuals, text, sound, and performance, inequities within systems and institutions, along with lived experience of confinement, redemption, hope, and home. For this world premiere, Hall brings his quintet including: Jeff Parker (guitar); Tomeka Reid (cello); Clark Sommers (bass); Marquis Hill (trumpet);John Wojciechowsk (saxophone); Dana Hall (drums, cymbals) to the Logan Stage. New text and direction by Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Visual design by Kerry James Marshall.
As a companion to the performances, a free day-long symposium at the Logan Center on January 15th from 11am-5:30pm invites the community to convene for panel discussions and other activities presented in partnership with Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice. Panel topics include housing rights; public health; environmental justice; food justice; criminal justice reform; and radical imagination towards social justice and racial equity. Details for the symposium are forthcoming.
Details:
Performances: Fri-Sat., Jan. 14th and 15th 2022; Logan Center; 7:30pm
Symposium: Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022; Logan Center; 11:00am-5:30pm (free)
Box Office. UChicago Presents FLEX Passes on sale Nov. 9, 2021; Single tickets open Nov. 30, 2021