FREE PUBLIC EVENT
WHAT: Beautiful Agitators
Written by Jessica James, Nick Houston, Aallyah Wright and Charles Coleman
Directed by Jennifer Welch
Headquartered at her beauty shop on Ashton Street in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi, Vera Mae Pigee played a crucial role during the civil rights movement in the Delta. While her name isn’t figured as prominently in history books as other local luminaries, Pigee was an instrumental figure in the fight for equality in Mississippi: from her efforts organizing direct action with young people to registering thousands of African Americans to vote.
This summer, Pigee’s story will meet the stage as part of StoryWorks: “Beautiful Agitators.”
WHERE: GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi
Sanders Soundstage
800 West Sunflower Road
Cleveland, MS 38732
WHEN: Wednesday June 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday July 11 at 6:30 p.m.
TICKETS:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/storyworks-beautiful-agitators-tickets-36262130007
Based on interviews, research and reporting by young journalists in Clarksdale, “Beautiful Agitators” is an original play that will explore the history of Pigee’s activism and the legacy that her work left behind.
Join us for two public staged readings at the GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi in Cleveland, MS, on Wednesday, June 20 and Wednesday, July 11. Each performance will be followed by a conversation that will bridge the work of Pigee and other civil rights leaders in the Delta to the nature of local civic engagement today. The show is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
“Beautiful Agitators” is presented in collaboration with Mississippi Today, Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, and Coahoma Collective.
Mississippi Today is a news and media company with a forward-facing mission of civic engagement and public dialog through service journalism, live events and digital outreach. Our newsroom is dedicated to providing Mississippians with reporting that inspires active interest in their state and equips them to engage in community life.
Mississippi Humanities Council is a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi. MHC creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversations about our history and culture.
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is a cultural heritage partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service. Designated by U.S. Congress in 2009 and governed by a board of directors representing agencies and organizations defined in the Congressional legislation, the MDNHA serves 18 counties that contain land located in the alluvial floodplain of the Mississippi Delta. More information about the MDNHA, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.msdeltaheritage.com.
The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University promotes greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. For more information, visit http://deltacenterdsu.com/.
StoryWorks is a documentary theater project created by Jennifer Welch. Now in its fourth season of performances, commissions playwrights to create immediate artistic responses to original investigative stories and the issues at their core.
Coahoma Collective is on a mission to catalyze arts-driven, community-inclusive revitalization in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.
