Press Release: Upcoming Performance Announcement in National Newspapers and Platforms
Nationwide- January 17,2025- Chad Lawson Cooper, a distinguished famed producer in the realms of film and Broadway, is poised to unveil his acclaimed Off-Broadway production, Justice on Trial: Reloaded, in the nation’s capital. This performance is scheduled for February 1, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the prestigious Cramton Auditorium at Howard University, the foremost historical Black College University (HBCU). Since its inception in 2016, Cooper's production has garnered significant acclaim, consistently achieving sold-out performances across theaters and auditoriums nationwide, following a notably successful two-year engagement in New York City.
Justice on Trial presents a poignant narrative that follows two civil rights attorneys who file a lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice, seeking compensatory damages amounting to $18 trillion for reparations owed to the descendants of formerly enslaved Africans. Furthermore, the attorneys are pursuing an additional $32 trillion in punitive damages for the profound suffering endured over 240 years of slavery and an ensuing 160 years of systemic oppression. The production features time-traveling witnesses, including the esteemed Harriet Tubman, portrayed by the talented actress and gospel singer Alicia Robinson Cooper, who is also Cooper's spouse. Alicia has received national recognition as a featured lead singer on John P. Kee's album Lily in the Valley. The cast also includes the character of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy whose tragic murder, following an accusation of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, is depicted alongside W. E. B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University and a co-founder of the NAACP. This role is portrayed by Du Bois's great-grandson, Jeffrey Du Bois Peck.
Cooper, in collaboration with his co-executive producer, the esteemed actor Harry Lennix, is thrilled to present this educational yet entertaining production at Howard University. The cast will also feature the legendary actor Ralph Carter, widely recognized for his role as Michael on the acclaimed television series *Good Times*, who will portray one of the civil rights attorneys.
In conjunction with the performance, Cooper, alongside the W. E. B. Du Bois Educational Foundation, will honor twelve distinguished individuals at the Howard University presentation for their humanitarian contributions. Among the honorees are The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert, Dean of the School of Divinity at Howard University, Howard Alumni Dr. Elliott Johnson, a prominent philanthropist and entrepreneur, Dr. A. J. Brickler, a celebrated physician and great-grandnephew of Harriet Tubman, as well as mega pastors Bishop Joel Peebles and his wife, along with other notable leaders, who will be recipients of the Du Bois Humanitarian Award.