About Sunset 1919

By establishing an annual artistic ritual featuring music, movement, and word, Lookingglass Theatre commemorates the start of the 1919 Chicago race riots, incited by the tragic murder of Eugene Williams, a Black teenager stoned to death by a White man, George Stauber, after drifting into a “Whites Only” section of Lake Michigan. Sunset 1919 is meant to honor the lives of Black people impacted by the deadly racial attacks that swept the nation that summer, the roots of which stretch back across centuries, and the fruits of which we continue to pluck – a moment in an unbroken line.    

This year’s event will feature grounding rituals from Fawn Pochel; original spoken word by Marvin Tate, movement from Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, and live music from Dr. Adam Zanolini; the laying of 50 white carnations at Eugene Williams’s memorial marker; a DJ set and dance party featuring DJ Lady D.  Curated & Coordinated by Artistic Producer: Culturalist and Strategy Designer Arkey Adams, Ensemble Member and Artistic Producer: New Works Kareem Bandealy, Ensemble Member and Mellon Playwright in Residence, J. Nicole Brooks. 

Thursday, July 27 at 7PM
At the Eugene Williams Memorial Marker

Learn More

City On Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919 (WBEZ)
Chicago 1919- Winner of the 2020 Outstanding Public History Project Award National Council on Public History (Newberry)
Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project
Ensuring the Chicago Race Riot Is Not Forgotten (TIME Magazine)
Mapping the 1919 Chicago Race Riots (U Chicago)
Red Chicago (PBS)
The Red Summer of 1919 (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

See the short film produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company here:

Community Partners

Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention
Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19)
Firebird Community Arts
Read and Run Chicago
Weinberg/ Newton Gallery