Lawndale King

Collaboraction Theatre will present a free staged reading of Lawndale King, Willie Round’s powerful new play about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s time living in Chicago’s North Lawndale community, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 19, at 1 p.m. at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago. Legendary Chicago director and filmmaker Pemon Rami will direct the reading and join Round for a post-show discussion.

Lawndale King revives the chapter in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life in 1966 when he moved his family to live in an apartment in North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. Gripping scenes and vivid community voices tell the intertwined stories of activists, families, slumlords, gangs, pastors and neighborhood youth, revealing the tension, hope, and courage that defined one of King’s most dangerous missions – joining the Chicago Freedom Movement to fight discriminatory housing practices. Intimate and sweeping, Lawndale King showcases Chicago’s West Side as a battleground for justice, capturing the humanity, humor, fear, and resilience of a community standing at the crossroads of change. 

The MLK Day reading of Lawndale King will feature Chicago actors Edwin Edvanzd (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), Briana Buckley (Coretta Scott King), Victor Holstein (Reporter/Mr. Sanction/ Charlie Swibel/Board Rep), Omari Ferrell (Bobby Gore/Al Raby), Tory Jacqui Malon (Benny Lee), Kaleb Jackson (Older Benny), Angelena Browne (Sadie Lee), Blake Hamilton Currie (Bernard/ Pepilow), Amir Abdullah (Andrew Young), Larnell James Shadd (James Bevel) and Anthony Moseley (Mayor Richard J. Daley).

Willie Round

Willie Round (playwright) is the creator of Lawndale King, a multigenerational stage work grounded in Chicago’s West Side that examines legacy, migration, and the intergenerational impact of systemic inequality. He is an Emmy Award–winning playwright, filmmaker, actor, and hip hop artist from North Lawndale, Chicago, whose work explores Black history, community memory and cultural resilience through stage, screen and music. He is the founder of MUD LIFE Entertainment, a storytelling platform dedicated to elevating underrepresented voices and preserving lived experiences rooted in place. His work reflects a deep commitment to storytelling as a tool for historical reflection and community engagement. He is a three-time Emmy Award-winner, recognized for his work with Collaboraction and NBC on Trial in the Delta: The Murder Story of Emmett Till, a project that brought national attention to one of the most pivotal moments in American civil rights history. As a writer and actor, his theatrical work has received national recognition, including a Broadway in Chicago/BTA Award for Most Promising Actor and his role as a writer on Lift Every Voice, which received the American Alliance for Theatre & Education Distinguished Play Award. In addition, Round has performed as a hip hop artist for large audiences, opening for Grammy Award–winning artists Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. He remains deeply connected to North Lawndale, where he continues to engage community members through art, mentorship, and culturally grounded storytelling.

Pemon Rami

Pemon Rami (director) is an author, film producer, director, and member of boards including the Illinois Arts Council and the Independent Film Alliance’s Luminary Board. He is a former professor at Loyola University and previously Director of Educational and Public Programs at the DuSable Museum of African American History from 2011 to 2016. While a teenager, Rami had a recurring role in Bird of the Iron Feather, TV’s pioneering first Black soap opera. He also appeared in the films The Spook Who Sat by The Door and Mahogany. As a casting director, he sourced talent for The Blues Brothers, Mahogany and Cooley High. His film producing credits include Of Boys and Men with Angela Bassett and Robert Townsend. Rami is an inaugural inductee in the Chicago Black Arts Hall of Fame, one of the Chicago Defender’s 50 Men of Excellence, and winner of the Pan African Film Festival Visionary Award, Congo Square Theatre Lifetime Legacy Award, DuSable Museum Mahogany Award, Black Harvest Film Festival Deloris Jordan Award and the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago’s Award for Excellence in Film. Full bio here.

For more information, visit chicagohistory.org.