The People of Clarendon County, A Play by Ossie Davis

The play is based on a script by Ossie Davis that tells the story of the origins of the Briggs v. Elliott case to end segregation in public schools. The play depicts how Allen University alumnus Rev. Joseph A. DeLaine worked with the people of Clarendon County and the NAACP to initiate this historic lawsuit which eventually became the first of five cases brought before the Supreme Court as part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The play was originally performed in New York in 1955 and starred Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Sidney Poitier before they became Hollywood stars. Their production helped raise awareness about the resistance to integration that African-American people in the South were still confronting in the years following the Brown v. Board decision. Allen’s production of the play, featuring Allen students Olivia McKinney, Danae Simmons, Terius Stephens, and Victor Zidor, will help commemorate the courageous actions of the Clarendon community and the ongoing significance of their historic fight for equality and justice.

The event is supported by an African American Civil Rights History grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.