This one-man show packs generations of history into an abridged performance. 1619: The Journey of a People commemorates the struggles, recognizes the heroes, and critically analyzes the American journey towards freedom and equality. From the beginning of American slavery to the Reconstruction, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Era, and modern movements for justice, Williams uses history to explain America’s current reality.
Ted Williams III is an actor and author who is a Political Science faculty member at Kennedy-King College and a graduate of the University of Chicago and Rutgers University. He is the former host of WYCC-PBS television’s The Professors weekly talk show and has provided political commentary for a host of local and national media outlets. He has appeared in commercials for companies including Subway, Cheerios, and Empire Carpet, and recently appeared in the films Human Zoos, The Christmas Thief, and on NBC’s Chicago PD, and Showtime’s The Chi. Additionally, he is the author of the production TORN the Musical, and of the book The Way Out: Christianity, Politics, and the Future of the African American Community.
Williams is a former candidate for the Chicago City Council and the creator of the production 1619: The Journey of a People. 1619 was nominated for the 2020 August Wilson Award for Best Writing of a Musical by the Black Theater Alliance Awards.

For more information: 1619