Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till, A Mike Wiley Production

About This Event

In 1955, a 14-year-old black Chicago youth traveled to the Mississippi Delta with country kinfolk and southern cooking on his mind. He walked into a world he could never understand and stepped into his gruesome fate by whistling at a white woman.  This riveting one-actor, multiple-character drama chronicles Till's murder and the trial and unbelievable confession of the men accused of Till's lynching.

 “I do these plays because I believe stereotypes and racism and things of that nature arise from fear — because we are scared of the unknown. When we were children, we were scared of the dark…because we didn’t know what was in the dark. We thought that box in the corner was a monster because we didn’t have the lights on to tell us that it was just a box. But when the lights came on and we saw it was just a box, the fear disappeared. The same logic can be applied to our perceptions of other cultures or religions or races. We turn the light on. We figure out who they are. We learn about them. Then we’re not afraid of them anymore.”

 

Mike Wiley’s documentary theatre productions are dramatically rendered stories based on historical fact. The dramas are presented with the intention that they help to shine light and open dialogue by sharing stories of individuals and events of human and civil rights struggle, strength, hope, failure and accomplishment. These stories are part of the American historical narrative. Occasional use of language or terminology accurate to an event’s period or setting may be viewed by some as offensive or inappropriate-- but by avoiding such language, the historical truth of the portrayal becomes less authentic. Thank you for your understanding.