TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Straz Center is set to begin its second year of bringing a series of free play reads to the community focused on Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

On Sunday, March 5, the Straz will feature The Ballad of Emmett Till. The play was written by Ifa Bayeza, a playwright, producer and theater artist based in California. The play tells the devastating story of 14-year-old Emmett Till who was abducted, tortured, then murdered by way of lynching in Mississippi in 1955. It happened after he he was accused of whistling at a white woman.

The play won an Edgar Award for best play in 2009.

Sunday’s showing will be the first time The Ballad of Emmett Till is on display in Florida. Bayeza hopes attendees will leave and continue having conversations about how to grow from our country’s past mistakes.

“I want to create an environment of empathy and to make people think about the historical assault that African-Americans experienced and continue to experience because of the legacy of slavery because of the tradition of inequality, so they can perceive him as a fully manifested human being,” Bayeza said.

On Sunday, actors will read excerpts from Bayeza’s play. Following her showing, the Tony-Award nominated play For Colored Girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf will be featured. It was written by Bayeza’s sister.

The play reading series’ takes place Sunday, March 5 at 2: 30 p.m. in the Straz’s TECO Theater. All play readings are free for the community.