Cousin of Emmett Till to attend Justice on Trial: Black Lives Matter Too at Boutwell Auditorium
BIRMINGHAM, AL, June 26, 2019 - The Chad Cooper Company on Broadway presents Justice on Trial: Black Lives Matter, Too - The Play coming to Boutwell Memorial Auditorium (1930 Reverend Abraham Woods, Jr. Blvd) in downtown Birmingham June 30, 2019 at 6:30 PM.
This life changing production is set in a courtroom where two civil rights attorneys are suing the U.S. Justice Department for reparations on behalf of the descendants of slaves (African Americans). It brings back time traveler expert witnesses Harriett Tubman, Medgar Evers & Emmett Till to tell their amazing stories to a mixed raced jury that deliberates the request for reparations while comparing The Then and The Now!
“This play is designed to provoke thought and public discourse about compensation for Black people as it seeks to close the racial divide,” says its creator, African American Broadway based producer Dr. Chad Lawson Cooper. “This production is educational, motivational and inspirational. We encourage all Birmingham residents to come see and experience the impactful play for themselves.”
Deborah Watts, Till’s cousin and co-founder and executive director of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation (ETLF), will be in attendance making this a unique must-attend event. Emmett Till was only 14 years old when in 1955 he was brutally tortured and lynched for whistling at a white woman at the Bryant Grocery Store located in Money, Mississippi. When Mamie Till Mobley bravely chose to have an open casket funeral so the world could see what happened to her son, her decision, along with the acquittal of Emmett’s confessed murderers, served as catalysts for the civil rights movement.
“Told in an engaging, visceral way, as a member of the Till family I am blessed and thankful that Dr. Cooper included Emmett’s presence and story in this thought provoking work,” says Watts. ”Justice on Trial is an emotional experience for me and audiences alike, engrossing theater patrons in the world Dr. Cooper has created. And the parallels the play draws between victims of civil rights era killings and those killed at the hands of police today will resonate with attendees by the show’s conclusion.”
Watts along with many family members of Emmett Till, tthe ETLF and its ambassdors remain steadfast in their mission, to bring justice for Emmett’s murder. They continue to press Congress, the Department of Justice and law enforcement to conduct and complete an exhaustive investigation and believe local authorities involved in the case must act quickly to identify and prosecute suspects directly and indirectly involved in the kidnapping and murder, where possible, as well as those who have played a part in the crime.
During this special performance Watt’s will accept the Justice Award for her and the ETLF’s dedication to finding justice for Emmett Till and other victims of racially-motivated murders.
“This family has carried an emotional pain created by the grizzly murder of their cousin for generations,” says Dr. Cooper. “While Justice on Trial may play a small part in the healing process for them we also want to recognize the injustice they have endured for the past 64 years. It is an inspiration to see how they have remained undeterred in their belief that one day they will prevail in their fight.”
Cooper has worked alongside Tyler Perry in Madea Goes to Jail, opened for Tina Turner on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and is billed as a National Recording Artist with a hit song "I Don't Look Like What I've Been Through", that received national radio play. The Chad Cooper Company on Broadway has been touring national stage plays in over 100 cities throughout the US for the last 12 years. Birmingham is the third stop of a 25-city southern tour following successful runs on and off Broadway for the last 2 years. “Justice on Trial” sold out the historic Douglass Theatre twice this March in Macon, GA and drew a large audience to its April 7 show in Tallahassee, Florida. An August 17 showing at the WACO (Where Art Can Occur) Theatre in Hollywood, CA was added recently. The theatre was founded by actor Richard Lawson and his wife Tina Knowles Lawson - the mother of entertainment mogul Beyoncé.
This play features Stage/Theater Veteran and Movie Actress (Motives II) Alicia Robinson Cooper who is also known for her amazing powerhouse voice as Lead Singer for award winning gospel great John P. Kee on “The Lily in the Valley” CD; Jerry Brunson known for his role in the movie The Preacher's Wife; as well as Birmingham based President of Total Praise Management and gospel recording artist Prince Yelder. This play will make you THINK and bring you to your feet with the musical arrangements. EUR Web says it's “A Must See!” District 9 Birmingham City Council member John Hilliard publicly expressed support of “Justice on Trial” during a mid-May council meeting that included local Civil Rights icon Gwendolyn Webb.
Excerpts of the play can be accessed on YouTube at Chad Lawson Cooper and www.thechadcoopercompany.com. Tickets can be purchased online now at www.thechadcoopercompany.com or by calling 212-786-6460.
