A Fireside Chat With Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

Oak Park Festival Theatre is pleased to present a very special event held in collaboration with local area community partners: “James Baldwin: His Impact on the Theatre Then, Now, and in the Future”, an intimate discussion with celebrated scholar and author Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

Author and activist James Baldwin had a complex relationship with theater. He famously said in 1969, “Black people ignored the theater because the theater had always ignored them.” In addition to his many books, poems, and essays, Baldwin completed and commercially produced two plays, “The Amen Corner” and “Blues for Mister Charlie” (which was a tribute to his friend and civil rights activist Medgar Evers), and wrote several others that were never produced.

Dr. Glaude is one of the most respected living experts on James Baldwin, the seminal activist, writer and playwright. His recently published best-selling book “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own” has earned accolades, and Dr. Glaude has spoken frequently in national and global media regarding his opinions on race, history, and the American experience. He is also the Chair of African American Studies and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University.