Social movement/riot-us behavior
As part of Delaware’s Semiquincentennial, Pieces of a Dream, Inc. is restaging an important piece, marking a moment in Wilmington’s history. “Social Movement” brings audiences to the moment on April 4, 1968 when Bobby Kennedy announces the assassination of MLK. Like many other cities around the United States, the young people of Wilmington were discouraged and disheartened by this news, leading to marches and uprisings throughout the city. The production brings audiences along in experiencing the heartbreak of the death of MLK and subsequent fear and frustration at having the city occupied by the Delaware National Guard. Pieces of a Dream, Inc. seeks to emotionally transport audiences into 1968 Wilmington and consider how a community maintains a sense of hope when faced with ongoing subjugation of basic personal freedoms. Using text from MLK’s 1963 March on Washington speech, Freedom Songs, and other poetry and prose as a soundscape, the dance performance highlights the perspective of the individuals who lived through this fragmenting moment in our state’s legacy.
