Black Lives Matter Via "Riot!" 1906 Atlanta Race Riots on San Francisco Black Film Fest Platform
San Francisco: Not the unrest following the death of George Floyd, but the turn of the century deadly rampages will be examined in the light of today's headlines as excerpts from Micah Penn's "Riot! 1906 Atlanta" Race Riots will be read in Atlanta and San Francisco during The August 8th Live Talk @SFBFF program.
San Francisco- The San Francisco Black Film Festival's Live Talk @SFBFF, the live program amid 200 online films, will give its festival fans an opportunity to observe exceptional excerpt readings of the new play "Riot! 1906 Atlanta" by actor, playwright and former Pan African Film Festival Cinema Coordinator for nearly a decade, Micah Penn.
The play written in 2019 is timely in that it examines the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots through the eyes of historic figures like W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Henry W. Grady and other Black and White leaders. At the dawn of the new century, White mobs rampaged and destroyed Black businesses and neighborhoods in what was thought of as the progressive "New South" Atlanta promoted by newspaperman Henry W. Grady, leaving up to 40 Black people and two White persons dead. The play is juxtaposed to the current race relations concerns as "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations around the world ensued after the tragic murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day, May 25, 2020.
Penn is a veteran professional actor and former stage director, who has worked more than 35 years on stage and screen. He has done critically acclaimed and award-winning work in Atlanta, New York City and Los Angeles, in comedy and drama.
Penn's "Déjà vu" examination of the ashes of the Phoenix City, Atlanta is compelling. "Riot!" is just the type of material for great storytelling and ultimately a great screenplay as described by Live Talk @SFBFF inaugural guest, Manns-Mackie Studios CEO, Ty Manns.
