A Century of Black Progress

Featuring the most ambitious programming to date, this year’s landmark Spotlight Reading Series is organized around the theme “A Century of Black Progress” and marks a decade of this acclaimed and transformative program. This 10th-anniversary celebration arrives on the heels of the centennial of Black History Month, which began in 1926 as Negro History Week, and looks ahead to the conclusion of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle with Court Theatre’s 2027 production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

By weaving together the past, present, and future of Black storytelling through a series of immersive events, the Spotlight Reading Series celebrates the soul of Chicago’s cultural ecosystem and pays tribute to one hundred years of cultural excellence and resilience. All events are free and open to the public, and reservations are recommended.

Friday, August 7: It’s Nation Time: An Evening of Black Cinema
Sunday, August 9: Kuumba Theatre Archive Unfurling
Wednesday, August 12: How I Learned What I Learned by August Wilson, featuring Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson
Thursday, August 13: A Womanist Trilogy: Hurston, Richards, and Kennedy
Friday, August 14: are you ready to smash white things? by Ireon Roach
Saturday, August 15: Praise and Protest Exhibition Tour
Saturday, August 15: Harsh Readers Circle
Wednesday, August 19: Blackstone Book Club
Saturday, August 22: The Chicago Critics Circles

Photo of A.C. Smith, Cage Sebastian Pierre, Adia Alli, Al’Jaleel McGhee, Jacqueline Williams, Michael Aaron Pogue, and Penelope Walker by Ollie Photography.

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