Black History in Story and Song at
Blackwell Feb. 8-9
February 7, 2008
Jerome
Bridges, a nationally acclaimed African-American historical actor and
interpreter will appear at Blackwell Auditorium at Randolph-Macon College in
Ashland at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 8 and 9 to tell first person stories from the
pre-Civil War time of slavery and the Civil Rights era of the l950s and 60s.
Jerome Bridges.
Accompanying Bridges with spirituals and gospel songs from these historic periods will be the George Crawford Memorial Choir from Richmond's Providence Park Baptist Church and a Community Choir, including over 50 voices from local churches, under the leadership of Ashland's Shiloh Baptist Church. The Traveling Jubilee Gospel Singers will provide spirited gospels prior to each part of the performance.
Admission is free for these performances of Black History in Story and Song; "Liberty and Justice for All."
Bridges was recently awarded the 2007 Volunteer Interpreter of the Year by the National Association for Interpretation.
With more than 30 years of historic interpreting experience to his credit, he deeply believes in the admonition that the future can learn from the past. Through his interpretations of African Americans at Jamestown, fighting for both the North and the South during the Civil War, and his portrayal of longtime Jamestown custodian Sam Robinson, Bridges brings to life some little-known historical characters.
He has also appeared in three feature films including the critically acclaimed, "Cold Mountain," and the History Channel's, "Sherman's March," in which he had a speaking part.
Bridges will portray Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Whitaker, a runaway slave born in 1829 and living as a freedman and school teacher in the North one year before the start of the Civil War.
Ben relates his harrowing story of escape from slavery in the South only to face racial prejudice in the North. As Ben, Bridges reminisces about stories shared with him by his aging grandfather of life for negroes before and after the American Revolution, and even earlier by his great-great-grandfather, who lived to witness the slow but precipitous decline into slavery of the first Africans at Jamestown.
Bridges will also portray reporter Eddie J. Reese of the black-owned Chicago Daily Defender. In his role as Reese, Bridges places himself at the scene of some of the major flash points of the modern Civil Rights movement, beginning in 1955. The Defender, as a northern newspaper founded in the early 1900s, allows Reese to take the lead in covering racial issues affecting the United States in both the North and South, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the signing of the Voting Rights Act by president Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Bridges as Reese illuminates the range of emotions precipitated by this trying time in American history Friday and Saturday evening's events promise to be memorable for their gripping stories and inspiring music that will appeal to everyone in Hanover County and the Richmond Metropolitan area.
Early arrival and seating is suggested as a large turnout is expected for both performances. The Traveling Jubilee Gospel Singers will be on stage about 20 minutes before the program and again at intermission.
This event was created and is sponsored by the Hanover Arts and Activities Center (HAAC), with the local Hanover AARP Chapter as co-sponsor. Major support of this event has been provided by Dominion and Randolph-Macon College.
For further information please contact Ragan Phillips at (804) 798-9721 or Buddy Kelly at (804) 798-8782.