As part of its production of Eleanor Burgess’ “The Niceties” Company of Fools (COF) is partnering with United Vision for Idaho (UVI), a progressive, Boise-based coalition dedicated to social, economic and environmental justice, to host a series of conversations and public engagement events to discuss the important themes presented in the play.
On Sunday, March 1, 2020, Company of Fools, UVI, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and St. Thomas Episcopal Church will jointly present a public lecture and discussion with Lecia Brooks, Chief Workplace Transformation Officer at the SPLC, and Adrienne Evans, Executive Director of UVI.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to buy tickets for COF’s matinee performance of “The Niceties” at 3 p.m. that same afternoon, as the play illuminates many of the same topics that will be addressed in the noontime lecture and discussion.
Lecia Brooks and Adrienne Evans are partners in a revolutionary convening of forward-thinking, innovative and powerful leaders to develop a shared understanding of the core traits of white nationalist movements that are gaining political power across the globe. Together, they are working to design strategies to effectively counter white nationalism; challenge racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism; and rebuild alliances for the future of the progressive movement. The two have traveled together to Warsaw, Auschwitz and the remote areas of Israel and Palestine to meet with embassy officials, members of foreign governments and activists on the ground. The partnership has deepened their efforts to meet the many challenges the U.S. faces today, and their collaborative work with other organizations is creating a powerful cultural and political shift in areas of rising white supremacy and White Nationalist activity in rural parts of the country.
About Lecia Brooks
Lecia Brooks is Chief Workplace Transformation Officer for the SPLC, where she serves both the leadership and staff to build a workplace culture of inclusiveness and ensure a sustainable infrastructure that supports the organization’s ongoing focus on diversity and equity. She previously served as the organization’s outreach director, traveling across the U.S. and abroad to counter hate and extremism nd to promote the celebration of difference. She continues to give talks about the SPLC and the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion principles more broadly.
Previously, Brooks served as director of the SPLC’s Civil Rights Memorial Center, an interpretive center designed to provide visitors to the Civil Rights Memorial with a deeper understanding of the civil rights movement. She has a wealth of experience in diversity advocacy training, having worked with corporations including Walmart, Lyft, Pixar and nonprofits like Salzburg Global Seminar and the Newark Public Library. She has a degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University.
About Adrienne Evans
A sociologist and nationally recognized social justice organizer, Adrienne Evans works on key national campaigns related to health care, economic and tax policy, family security, immigration and other critical issues. Her background is in multi-issue movement development and strategic community organizing, with a particular focus on the intersection of economic, social and racial justice.
She currently serves as the Executive Director of United Vision for Idaho, an organization that seeks to unite efforts across Idaho to win real improvements in the people’s lives
UVI is a statewide organization of thousands of people who know it is critical to unite statewide efforts in an overarching strategy to win real improvements in people’s lives, centering Idaho in the larger fights that make that truly possible. UVI focuses on political education, civic engagement and direct action, and strengthening relationships between diverse people and organizations. A particular focus of UVI’s activism is addressing racism, discrimination and race-based conflict.
About “The Niceties”
At an elite East Coast university, an ambitious young black student and her esteemed white professor meet to discuss a paper the college junior is writing about the American Revolution. They’re both liberal. They’re both women. They’re both brilliant. But very quickly, discussions of grammar and Google turn to race and reputation, and before they know it, they’re in dangerous territory neither of them had foreseen — and facing stunning implications that can’t be undone. Written with powerful truth and humor by Eleanor Burgess, this deeply resonant work is directed by COF Producing Artistic Director Scott Palmer. The Washington Post calls the play “a barnburner,” adding that it’s “one of the best plays … about who gets to tell the story of America, and how.”
