Hotel Berry
by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Directed by JaMeeka D. Holloway
As the only Black business owners in the booming town of Athens, Edward and Mattie Berry have established one of the finest hotels in all of Ohio. People from all over the country stop in to dine on Edward's famous fried oysters and Mattie's homemade pies. So, it is no surprise when Theodore Roosevelt decides to stay at the Berry Hotel on his whistle stop tour through Ohio. While a visit by a former president, particularly one as popular as Roosevelt, should be a moment of pride and joy, this Bull Moose Republican has a racist record that still haunts him. The Black community has not yet forgiven him for discharging the Black infantrymen who were set up by Brownsville city officials. Roosevelt will find himself at odds with the city's most prominent Black citizens, and so will the Berrys if they choose to let him stay the night. This presidential visit unleashes scandal, political upheaval, and a menu to rival that of the finest of restaurants in all of Europe!