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The play will be on stage at 11 a.m. at the Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey. Admission is free.

The BTW, along with A Call to Conscience, a St. Louis-based theater company, collaborated on the writing and producing of the play that presents a cutting-edge interpretation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to the critics of his presence in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963.

“With recent events of police brutality and social injustices, we thought it was fitting to present this play,” said Kathryn Bentley, BTW director and associate professor in the Department of Theater and Dance. “Using Dr. King’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ as a backdrop, Justice Too Long Delayed is a theatrical juxtaposition of the Civil Rights Movement and today’s Black Lives Matter Movement. The piece explores several pertinent themes of social injustice.”

“In this world, time is always of the essence,” said Kenneth Coleman, BTW assistant director and a junior theater performance major. “It is always moving, yet somehow African-Americans can find themselves stuck in place, like a broken record.”

SIUE student performers include: Coleman, Ashley Dozier, Quincy Gordon, Avalon Palmer, Rachel Rogers, Emily Schneider, Timothy Tan, Justin Truman and Bernard Williams. 

BTW and A Call to Conscience will also present Justice Too Long Delayed at 8 p.m. Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis. Admission is free.

SIUE’s Department of Theater and Dance presents four plays and one dance concert during its October through April season. All productions are open to the community at large. 

The Department of Theater and Dance is part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Central to SIUE’s exceptional and comprehensive education, the College of Arts and Sciences has 19 departments and 85 areas of study. More than 300 full-time faculty/instructors deliver classes to more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty help students explore diverse ideas and experiences, while learning to think and live as fulfilled, productive members of the global community. Study abroad, service-learning, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities better prepare SIUE students not only to succeed in our region's workplaces, but also to become valuable leaders who make important contributions to our communities.

Photo Courtesy: Valerie Goldston

L-R: Shown are Timothy Tan and Bernard Williams (playing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.). 

Quincy Gordon (center) and the cast of Justice Too Long Delayed. 

Ashley Dozier portrays Sandra Bland. 

Justin Truman is seen in a Black Lives Matter scene.