We hope you will join us via Zoom webinar for this special online panel discussion moderated by Relentless Assistant Dramaturg Maddi Keaton and featuring special guests:

Melanie Chambliss is an Assistant Professor in the Humanities, History, and Social Sciences department. She teaches courses on 19th- and 20th-century African American history and culture. Melanie is currently working on her in-progress manuscript “Saving the Race: Black Archives, Black Liberation, and the Remaking of Modernity.” Her research has been supported by the Ford Foundation, the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson Foundation). Melanie earned her PhD in African American Studies and American Studies from Yale University.

Dawn Renee Jones is a writer, director and educator from Chicago. A recipient of the 2015 Ruby Prize for her play A Heap See, Dawn Renee received her MFA in creative writing an emphasis in playwriting from Goddard College. Dawn Renee was the founder and artistic director of Alchemy Theatre in Minneapolis, where she also directed productions for Actors Theatre of St. Paul, Penumbra Theatre, At the Foot of the Mountain Theatre, and Starting Gate Theatre. Dawn Renee currently teaches courses as Columbia College Chicago. 

DeRon S. Williams is an assistant professor of theatre at Eastern Connecticut State University An artist-scholar of 20th- and 21st-century African American theatre and performance, Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Theatre from Texas Tech University. Dr. Williams’ interdisciplinary teaching, research, and creative activities centers around Black theatre, drama, and literature. As a director, he has staged new and canonical works. Some favorite projects include Black Nativity by Langston Hughes, Crowns by Regina Taylor, and Africa to America, a multidisciplinary performance piece by Dr. Wendy R. Coleman.addi , Assistant Professor of African American History, Columbia College Chicago