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Posted October 6, 2021

Mike Wiley Brings “Brown v. Board of Education” to Piedmont Arts, Nov. 11

Acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley returns to Piedmont Arts with his one-man play, Brown v. Board of Education: Over 50 Years Later on Thursday, November 11, 2021.

Written and performed by Wiley, the play focuses on the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the court ruled unanimously in 1954 that segregation was unconstitutional, overthrowing Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which set the “separate but equal” precedent. Wiley’s dynamic performance will examine the effects of the decision on the families who participated in the original court case, the impact of the ruling on school systems at the time and the challenges still being made today.

Through Piedmont Arts’ performing arts program, Wiley has introduced countless students and the community to the legacies of Emmett Till, Henry “Box” Brown and Jackie Robinson. Wiley has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the 2010 and 2014 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A reception will be held at 6:30 pm. Performance begins at 7 pm in the Piedmont Arts galleries.

Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students in grades K–12. Tickets are on sale now at Piedmont Arts and online here.

Brown v. Board of Education: Over 50 Years Later is sponsored by Tau Omicron Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Martinsville Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

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