Chapter and Verse

On the heels of the City of Boston officially declaring April 20th Daniel Beaty Day, and a neighborhood tour of his powerful one-person play, Mr. Joy, ArtsEmerson is proud to announce an exclusive engagement of screenings of Beaty’s film debut, Chapter and Verse. Directed by Jamal Joseph, a leader of the Black Panther Party who spent time in prison, and starting Daniel Beaty, Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine and Selenis Leyva, Chapter and Verse reflects upon what it means to forge your own destiny in an outwardly harsh society. After serving eight years in prison, reformed gang leader S. Lance Ingram (BEATY) re-enters society and struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem. Living under the tough supervision of a parole officer in a halfway house, he is unable to find a job that will let him use the technological skills he gained in prison. Lance is forced to take a job delivering for a food pantry where he befriends Ms. Maddy (DEVINE), a strong and spirited grandmother, and assumes responsibility for her 15-year-old grandson Ty, a promising student who is pulled into a dangerous street gang. When gang members decide to punish Ty for disobeying the “law of the streets,” Lance risks sacrificing his “second chance” at freedom so that Ty can have a “first chance” at a better life.