{"id":6057,"date":"2015-02-12T10:22:32","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T16:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=6057"},"modified":"2015-02-12T10:22:32","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T16:22:32","slug":"black-history-told-in-30-minutes-for-history-month-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/black-history-told-in-30-minutes-for-history-month-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Black history told in 30 minutes for history month celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kate Morrissey<\/p>\n

In just 30 minutes, a cast of readers provided a timeline of African-American history beginning with life in Africa, moving through slave trade and emancipation and culminating in the progress made by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

The Illinois Department of Human Rights<\/a> hosted readings Wednesday from a play \u201cFrom Slavery to the White House,\u201d written by Crystal Phoenix Tyler of Blue Sky Rhythm Productions<\/a>, at the James R. Thompson Center in observation of black history month.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really emphasizes the pathways that the African-American community has made,\u201d said Rocco J. Claps, the director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights. \u201cWhen I speak to groups, I talk about the importance of the African-American community to all communities because it teaches us how to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claps said that since the department investigates discrimination claims, celebrating \u201cspecial parts of our community\u201d was a necessary part of the department\u2019s programming.<\/p>\n

\"stal<\/a>
Crystal Phoenix Tyler addresses the audience Wednesday before the start of the reading. She explained that the readings are excerpts from her 2 hour 40 minute piece \u201cFrom Slavery to the White House.\u201d (Kate Morrissey\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About 50 people, mostly in their 40s or older, attended, and many sang along during the cast\u2019s rendition of \u201cWe Shall Overcome,\u201d a protest song popular during the civil rights movement. The crowd included Illinois Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-Chicago).<\/p>\n

The reading closed with a question that resonated to cheers from the audience: \u201cWhat can we do to make things better, or is having a black president enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love the honesty in the piece,\u201d said Felicia Gibson, an attendee from Bucktown, who has seen the full show as well. \u201cI do feel that we have a lost generation coming behind us, and I do want to do all I can to make them aware. This is you. This is your future. This is what you come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

The play itself, according to Tyler, began as a production for children and has expanded into two versions, one for students and one for adults. She said it incorporates song and dance and teaches about the details of African-American history that her father taught her. She said in both versions the play maintains an educational tone that pervaded the synopsis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we celebrate each other and get to know each other, we can coexist better,\u201d said Tyler, who changed careers from lawyer to playwright because, according to her, she didn\u2019t feel like she was making a difference.<\/p>\n

Claps said that this event was the only one the department planned for black history month, but that an event for women\u2019s history month would be coming in March.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Cast members perform variations of African dance to open the reading from Crystal Phoenix Tyler\u2019s \u201cFrom Slavery to the White House.\u201d (Kate Morrissey\/Medill)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kate Morrissey In just 30 minutes, a cast of readers provided a timeline of African-American history beginning with life in Africa, moving through slave trade and emancipation and culminating in the progress made by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. The Illinois Department of Human Rights hosted readings Wednesday from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":6059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-affairs","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nBlack history told in 30 minutes for history month celebration - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/black-history-told-in-30-minutes-for-history-month-celebration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black history told in 30 minutes for history month celebration - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Kate Morrissey In just 30 minutes, a cast of readers provided a timeline of African-American history beginning with life in Africa, moving through slave trade and emancipation and culminating in the progress made by people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. 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