DCDC Revives Martyrs’ Road: A Timely Reflection on the Ongoing Fight for Justice Work Inspired by the Birmingham Bombing

Black by Popular Demand

Black by Popular Demand - Dayton Contemporary Dance Company

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Revives Martyrs’ Road: A Timely Reflection on the Ongoing Fight for Justice Work Inspired by the Birmingham Bombing.

In recreating Martyrs’ Road, I want to remind myself and audiences that the fight for a just world is unending, The enemies of human rights have not rested, and do not rest.”

— Kevin Ward, Senior Artistic Advisor

DAYTON, OH, UNITED STATES, February 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the nation continues to grapple with questions of justice, equity, and human rights, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) presents a timely restaging of Martyrs’ Road, choreographed by Senior Artistic Advisor Kevin Ward. The work will be performed as part of the Black By Popular Demand concert on February 28 at 7:30 PM and March 1 at 4:00 PM at the Victoria Theatre.

Martyrs’ Road distills five decades of civil rights history into a single day, viewed through the lens of one family’s experience. Against the backdrops of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, the assassination of Medgar Evers, and the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, the work explores themes of bravery, loss, and the unrelenting march for justice that continues to this day.

“In recreating Martyrs’ Road, I want to remind myself and audiences that the fight for a just world is unending,” said Ward. “The enemies of human rights have not rested, and do not rest. We are learning this costly lesson, as the numbers and names in the rolls of the martyred continue unabated to this very day.”
The work first originated as a site-specific piece in 1986 and has been restaged multiple times. This latest version, which Ward calls “MR 3.0,” aims to move away from a historical review of past events toward an intimately felt present where loss and struggle sit beside us.

“I am telling a story that many know in their bones”, Ward explained. “Mothers lost children, wives lost husbands, brothers buried siblings, and those hurts do not heal. We grieve still. We carry physical and psychological injuries still. And we are constantly ‘gaslighted’ by a government and its enablers, insisting what we continue to endure is ‘settled history.’”

The work’s relevance extends beyond its southern roots to communities nationwide, including Dayton. The piece references Birmingham, Mississippi, Ferguson, New York City, Beavercreek and Baltimore—locations where the struggle for civil rights and human dignity has played out across generations. As communities continue to navigate questions of access, voice, and connection, Martyrs’ Road offers a space for reflection on how far we’ve come and the difficult paths that lie ahead.

Ward’s choreography centers the unrelenting march for justice amid tragic losses, exploring themes of fight, release, and loss. “The work is firmly seated in real people, and their struggles, but offers an intimate portrait of how a survivor copes when their loss is splayed across the national stage.”

As a nonprofit arts organization founded during the Civil Rights movement in 1968, DCDC has long been committed to preserving historically significant stories while creating space for reflection, dialogue, and shared experience. The revival of Martyrs’ Road continues this tradition, inviting audiences to engage with difficult truths and to consider their own role in the ongoing pursuit of justice.The performance comes at a moment when conversations about civil rights, authoritarianism, government sanctioned violence against its own citizens, and systemic racism remain at the forefront of national discourse. Martyrs’ Road offers an opportunity to bear witness to the resilience and pain that have marked the fight for a more just world. ”How far removed are we really from Bloody Sunday on Edmund Pettus Bridge?” Ward asks. The performance invites audiences to sit with that question and to recognize that the work of justice is never complete, nor can it be.

Craig Schrolucke
Inspiration Foundry
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