"This time, I'm doing all the heavy lifting," betts says of his latest, The Freedom Riders, which will be performed live at 7 p.m. tonight at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive. Produced in conjunction with an exhibit currently on view at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Five Points, the radio play focuses on the Freedom Riders of 1961, a brave band of blacks and whites who traveled together in integrated groups through the deep Jim Crow South, risking beatings and worse in the name of human rights. It's a story made all the more contemporary by the nation's (and world's) recent Occupy events, betts notes.
But this is more than just a show. James Lawson, one of the great figures of the Freedom Riders, and other movement veterans will be there in person to talk with the audience; also on stage will be the Southern Journey ensemble, a group that resurrects folk music from the American civil-rights front. Admission is $10; for details and reservations, visit www.blackradiodays.com/shop or call 720-748-1388.
Mon., Nov. 14, 7-9 p.m., 2011
