Juneteenth Celebration: An Afternoon with Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman

Local Performer Brings South Dakota History to Life at Juneteenth Celebration

RAPID CITY.

This year’s annual Juneteenth Celebration, hosted by Black Hills Community Theatre (BHCT) and the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City (PACRC), brings to the stage the work and life of Yankton writer Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman. An Afternoon with Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman has been created by local performer and historian Joyce Jefferson and will involve additional community performers. The event will take place on June 13th in the Historic Theatre at the Performing Arts Center and is free to the public.

Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman moved to Yankton in 1882 at the age of twelve. She attended school in Yankton and later the State University of Kentucky. She was a prolific writer who created a large body of work including poetry, essays, and plays. Her plays Thirty Years of Freedom and Fifty Years of Freedom speak directly to the experience of Black Americans in the years following emancipation. Joyce Jefferson has appeared as Tillman, and several other South Dakota “Sheroes,” at prior Juneteenth celebrations and this year has created a new piece specifically for this event.

This will be the fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration hosted by BHCT and the PACRC. Doors will open at 1 PM for attendees to meet in fellowship, enjoy coffee and cookies, contribute a paper quilt square to a community quilt, and view educational displays about the holiday and local Black history. The performance will begin at 2 PM in the Historic Theatre. Admission is free.

For More Information Contact:
Merlyn Sell
605-394-2250
merlyn@bhct.org