The “Black Narrative” series at The Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn culminated with a staged reading of works by celebrated playwrights Amiri Baraka and Aishah Rahman presented in partnership with Classix. With Baraka and Rahman both known for using writing as a tool to reveal the violence that sits underneath the surface of Black American life, A Festival of Violence brings together Baraka’s Dutchman and Rahman’s response The Lady and The Tramp. The piece is directed by Brooklyn-based director, writer and Classix member Dominique Rider. Baraka’s Dutchman opened off-Broadway in 1964 to critical acclaim, winning that year’s Obie Award for Best American Play. In 1965, after the assassination of Malcolm X, Baraka moved to Harlem and founded the Black Arts Repertory Theatre and School, an establishment generally considered the official launch of the Black Arts Movement.

As a writer, Rahman was also active in the Black Arts Movement and was the author of numerous plays, including the dramas Unfinished Women Cry In No Man's Land While a Bird Dies in Gilded Cage, The Mojo And The Sayso and Only in America. The performance was followed by a panel discussion centered on the themes of the plays and what it means to perform them together.

Panelists: Nehassaiu de Cannes, Yoruba Richen, Dominique Rider; Moderated by Arminda Thomas