TimeLine's Living History Program To Support Reparations Won Curriculum With Reading Of John Conroy's MY KIND OF TOWN

TimeLine Theatre Company, in partnership with the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation and the Chicago Teachers Union, will present a reading of John Conroy's play My Kind of Town in support of curriculum that teaches Chicago Public school students about the police torture scandal that plagued Chicago for more than three decades, focusing on learning about abuse of government power and violation of the public trust and empowering students to be agents of change. The reading will take place on Monday, April 29 at 11 a.m. at Chicago Teachers Union, 1901 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago, for an audience of approximately 300 students from four schools, and their teachers.

Guest speakers at the event will include playwright and veteran investigative journalist John Conroy, and Darrell Cannon, a survivor who was picked up and tortured by Burge's detectives in 1983 and spent 24 years in prison before being released in 2007.

The reading is part of the Chicago Teachers Union effort to support teachers with fulfilling curriculum requirements, titled "Reparations Won: A Case Study in Police Torture, Racism, and the Movement for Justice in Chicago," created in response to the reparations package passed by the City of Chicago in 2015. It teaches all 8th and 10th graders about Jon Burge, former Chicago police commander who, along with officers working under his command, has been accused by more than 100 African-Americans of torturing and physically abusing them while they were in police custody in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Activists in Chicago's black community worked for many years to uncover the scandal, to curtail the torture program, to seek justice for survivors, and to gain public acknowledgment of the systemic nature of these abuses, eventually winning an unprecedented series of state and local government responses. After working for months with African American community leaders, civil rights advocates, law enforcement, academic researchers and the Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department unveiled the curriculum in 2017.

My Kind of Town puts a human face on the police torture scandal. Conroy covered the story as it unfolded, often in the pages of the Chicago Reader, challenging public indifference to become one of the leading voices drawing attention to the charges. My Kind of Town is his passionate, groundbreaking drama revolving around one imprisoned man's fight for justice, inspired by the stories of numerous victims, police officers, prosecutors and families whose lives have been poisoned by the allegations. With interlocking storylines that humanize the play's issues of corruption and responsibility, My Kind of Town sets the stage for a conversation about today's culture of law and order.

TimeLine presented the play's world premiere in May 2012, when its story was acclaimed as being "told with spellbinding power" by Time magazine. The Chicago Tribune wrote that the drama "gripped its audience" and that "despite the moral force of this play, and the explosiveness of its content, the tone is strikingly careful and balanced." And Time Out Chicagosaid that "My Kind of Town is an important play, one that successfully depicts the complicated ecosystem in which men and women who've sworn to serve and protect the citizenry can become its greatest oppressors."

"We're proud to host this very special opportunity for students to experience this story of torture and survival," said Jennifer Johnson, Chief of Staff for the Chicago Teachers Union. "It's such an important moment to be able to engage with survivors who are still here and able to tell their stories themselves. We believe that these kinds of experiences are critical to supporting the curriculum and ensuring that it is taught in all of our Chicago Public Schools. We are grateful that survivor Darrell Cannon and John Conroy-whose journalistic work was critical to the fight for justice-will be present and able to guide students through the stage reading."

"My Kind of Town provides a different lens to look at the torture scandal and the community activism that resulted in the reparations," said Juliet Hart, director of TimeLine's Living History Education Program. "It is a complicated look at human nature and the fabric of the City of Chicago. Living History is honored to be a small part of bringing the Reparations Won curriculum to life."

The April 29 reading will be directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling and will feature much of the original cast from its world premiere, including TimeLine Company Members Charles Andrew Gardner and David Parkes and TimeLine Associate Artist Danica Monroe, with Carolyn Hoerdemann, Maggie Kettering, and A.C. Smith. Joining them will be TimeLine Company Member Tyla Abercrumbie, Tony Garcia, and Kenneth Johnson.

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