Red Emma’s

Stinney is an opera set in Alcolu, South Carolina in 1944. The story is told from the perspective of two young murder victims: Mary Emma Thames (age eight) and Betty June Binnicker (age eleven). The girls guide us through the repercussions of their horrific deaths and the ensuing trial of George Stinney, a fourteen-year-old African American boy and the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th/ 21st Century. By investigating the racial tensions in South Carolina and the community’s response to these murders, Stinney questions the integrity of the legal system and the mishandled evidence that condemned a young boy to die. The opera will be performed by classically trained singers along with members of the Baltimore Gospel community. Tickets are available at http://www.stinneyopera.com/