Award-winning D.C. playwright Psalmayene 24 will adapt a book about the fight for freedom in Prince George’s County into a play that will debut at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier next year. As accounts show, Prince George’s witnessed the longest and most sustained legal challenge to slavery in U.S. history.
The book, “A Question of Freedom,” which was published last year and written by William G. Thomas III, focuses on the often-overlooked history of enslaved people suing in court for their freedom, highlighting some key cases in Prince George’s County starting in the 1790s.
A professor at Bowie State University, Psalmayene has written several plays, including one about a famous confrontation between Richard Wright and James Baldwin in a Paris cafe and another about Frederick Douglass’ trip to Ireland.
“It’s a huge part of American history that many people do not know about,” he said at an event when the announcement was made. “I certainly did not know about the narratives before getting approached to adapt this book.”
The as-yet-untitled play is part of a two-year collaboration involving the Prince George’s County Historical Society, Prince George’s Community College, the local library system and the county Office of Human Rights.
The library system will also hold a year-long countywide read of the book, with monthly events and educational programs.
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