Black history program rocks R-MC stage
February 12, 2008
By Ken Odor (Mechanicsville Local)
The Community Choirs belt out a gospel song in the second half of “Black History in Story and Song.” Below, African-American historic interpreter Jerome Bridges tells the story of the struggle for Civil Rights in the 1950s in the Deep South (photos by Ken Odor)
An overflow crowd at Randolph-Macon College’s Blackwell Auditorium enjoyed a rousing celebration of black history last weekend.
The Hanover chapter of AARP and the Hanover Arts and Activities Center combined to present “Black History in Story and Song,” featuring the two choirs and a gospel singing group.
African-American history interpreter Jerome Bridges presented a two-part performance, portraying runaway slave Benjamin Franklin Whitaker in the first segment, with an account of slavery from its beginnings to the Civil War.
After the intermission, Bridges took on the character of Eddie Jefferson Reese, a reporter for the black-owned Chicago Daily Defender, giving a first person account of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
The George Crawford Memorial Choir performed during the first half of the
program, singing traditional favorites such as “His Eye is on the Sparrow”
and “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.”
The Traveling Jubilee Gospel Singers welcomed the crowd back from intermission. Later, the Community Choirs got the crowd on their feet with “Oh Happy Day,” “We Shall Not be Moved” and “We Shall Overcome.”
The program also featured a Hanover County Black Heritage exhibit “Generations of Hanover Blacks Make Their Mark” and a slide show of the work of Hanover artist Dennis Winston.