Past Event

The Legacy of Emmitt Till: Race, Youth, and Violence in Chicago

Of the 24 Chicago Public School students killed during this school year, three were participants in Goodman Theatre’s Student Subscription Series. In conjunction with The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, journalist Laura Washington will moderate a panel discussion about the increasing intra- and interracial violence among Chicago youth, the proliferation of gangs, and efforts to reverse this tide.

Free and open to the public. Reservations required. For more information or to make a reservation, contact the Goodman Theatre at 312.443.3800.

Panelists include:


  • Cathy Cohen, Professor of Political Science at University of Chicago and principal investigator for the Black Youth Project
  • Salim Muwakkil, Crime and Communities Media Fellow at the Open Society Institute, senior editor at In These Times, and contributing columnist for the Chicago Tribune
  • Laura Washington (moderator), senior editor at In These Times, columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and Ida B. Wells University Professor at DePaul University

This event is part of the Goodman Theatre’s CONTEXT series, a forum to engage the community in debate, discussion and deeper exploration of themes within Goodman productions. Unlike post-show discussions that focus primarily on the production, CONTEXT events concentrate on how particular issues raised within the plays resonate in today’s culture.

This event is co-sponsored by the Goodman Theatre and The Public Square at the IHC.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact the Goodman Theatre at 312.443.3800.