Screening of “The Trial of the Chicago 7” with Awol Allo

Tuesday February 24th
Doors & drinks at 5.15pm; Film starts 5.45pm

The Trial of the Chicago 7, directed by Aaron Sorkin (2020, 2hr 9min) tells the story of a group of radicals accused of conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The trial that resulted stands as one of the most memorable and unusual courtroom spectacles in American history.

Politically and culturally, 1968 was a year of unprecedented radicalism and revolutionary agitation in a decade of significant turbulence that saw the assassinations of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and the abdication of Lindon B Johnson. The Vietnam war became the longest war in US history; American casualties passed the 30,000 mark. When the Viet Cong mounted their Tet offensive, anti-war protests grew larger and louder on college campuses. Black Nationalists movements such as the Black Panther Party were already organising and protesting police brutality and systemic racism.

The Chicago conspiracy trial is a culmination of these developments. The defendants transformed the courtroom into a political stage, using the devices of law and justice to counter the charge of conspiracy with theatrical defiance, aiming to put the state itself on trial for the "absurdity" of prosecuting dissent against the Vietnam War, systemic racism, and economic inequality. The courtroom spectacle crystallised the 1960s radical spirit, and brought about a rupture, putting the American body politic in contradiction with its professed values and ideals.

There are significant parallels between that period and the recent decade, particularly the targeting of various movements supporting Palestine liberation. The recent proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation and the Defend Our Juries protests and prosecutions carry resemblances with the radicalism and defiance that characterised the 1960s.

Following the screening, Awol Allo, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield, will lead a discussion on the parallels between these two moments, and on the appropriation of the legal system as a site of struggle against the state.

Awol is author of “The Courtroom as a Space of Resistance“ (2017) about Nelson Mandela’s subversion of his Rivonia trial and “The Courtroom as an Arena of Ideological and Political Confrontation” (2021) about the Chicago conspiracy trial.

His forthcoming book also includes a chapter on the confrontation between Black Panther Party chairman Bobby Seale and the judge in the Chicago trial. Seale, who was the eighth defendant, was severed from the proceedings after a series of extraordinary courtroom events, during which the judge ordered that he be gagged and bound to a metal chair. (After his removal, the case become known as the Chicago Seven.) Seale’s treatment in the courtroom became one of the defining symbols of the trial’s wider themes: state repression, racialised punishment, and the limits of dissent within the legal process.

The evening will include a break for a one-pot vegan supper that we’ll eat together.

If you've already seen the film and would like to join us for supper and the post-screening discussion you're welcome to do so, but please arrive after 8pm.

Kairos, 84 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TG

Doors open at 5.15pm for drinks. Film starts at 5.45pm.

£8 Frequent Visitor and Supporter Members; £15 Standard (includes Community Members); £10 Struggling financially; £8 Under 30s; £20 with Donation. Food complimentary. (To find out more about membership, visit our Membership page.)

Before requesting a discounted ticket, please consider sincerely: Are you struggling to meet your basic needs? Would you have to make a genuine sacrifice to buy a full priced ticket? Do you have reduced earnings through a lifestyle choice or rather because you're dedicating your time to unpaid work relating to the climate and nature crises or as a result of structural inequality? If you're struggling to pay even the reduced price please contact us on events@kairos.london.

Please note that most of our events take place in our basement space and we do not have a lift so our venue is not fully accessible. Please get in touch if you have accessibility issues via events@kairos.london.

You can find our returns policy here.

You can find our Club Rules, including our no phone policy, here.