Black Teen Lives Matter

April 17 - 27, 2024

Black Teen Lives Matter honors the stories of Chicago’s young people and situates the voices of Black teens within legacies of activism and storytelling that long predate today’s civil rights organizing. This four-part video project—drawing on monologues and short plays written by Black teens who participated in our EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course) programs in Chicago classrooms from 2017-2021.

Since the debut of Black Teen Lives Matter (2020-2021), we have received numerous requests from schools across Chicagoland to adapt these four videos for classroom learning. We have also heard from community partners about how this project affords audiences the opportunity to find themselves in someone else’s story, and connect the lived realities of our city’s Black teens with our diverse Chicagoland communities.

We developed a four-day program to engage students around the issues addressed in Black Teen Lives Matter and support teachers in facilitating challenging conversations. The curriculum kicks off with a screening of a selected video followed by a guided discussion with a Silk Road Rising teaching artist. We then provide the classroom teacher (or community organizer) with curated lesson plans built around the remaining three videos.

We believe that continuing to amplify the stories of our city’s Black teens will serve as a catalyst for inspiring young people throughout Chicagoland and the US to tell their stories with the knowledge that they are heard, valued, and respected.

Black Teen Lives Matter

  • Monologues (Act 1) - Monologues is the first of four acts that features student-written pieces performed by professional actors.
    Runtime: 22 Minutes, 5 Seconds   •   Release: 2021
  • Family Stories (Act 2) - Family Stories features four short plays that explore the many facets of being a family. How is family a source of strength when confronting life's myriad challenges? How do teens survive the loss of beloved family members? How do we navigate the expectations of our parents?
    Runtime: 31 Minutes, 59 Seconds • Release: 2021
  • Taking a Stand (Act 3) - Taking a Stand features four short plays about Black youth and young adults envisioning their version of the American dream. What do you say to the professor who ignores your work? Or the boss who would rather maintain a profitable status quo than reckon with racial justice? When the pressures of society act to keep young people in their place, these newfound heroes rewrite the rules and prepare to soar.
    Runtime: 32 Minutes, 53 Seconds • Release: 2021
  • Present Tense (Act 4) - ​​Present Tense features nine monologues and one short play written after Chicago's COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were implemented on March 21, 2020. Several stories reflect upon the murder of George Floyd and the heightened demands for racial justice that have followed.
    Runtime: 26 Minutes, 33 Seconds • Release: 2021

Screening History


November 11, 2020 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

November 14, 2020 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

February 27, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

March 1, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

April 24, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

April 26, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

July 28, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

July 31, 2021 | Silk Road Rising, hosted online, Chicago, Illinois

March 23, 2022 | Sabin Dual Language Magnet School, Chicago, Illinois

May 10, 2022 | Charles R. Henderson Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

May 20, 2022 | Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

May 24, 2022 | A. Philip Randolph Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

September 26, 2022 | Art in Motion, Chicago, Illinois

October 3, 5, & 6, 2022 | Ludwig Van Beethoven Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

December 5, 2022 | Deneen School of Excellence, Chicago, Illinois

January 26, 2023 | Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois

January 31, 2023 | Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois

February 6, 2023 | Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois

February 14, 2023 | Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois

February 14, 15, & 16, 2023 | Arthur Dixon Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

March 3, 10, & 24, 2023 | Johnnie Colemon Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois

Contact

Silk Road Cultural Center
150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1970
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone:
312-857-1234
Fax:
312-577-0849
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Silk Road Cultural Center is a dba of Gilloury Institute, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization
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