Naperville Black History program showcases 'unsung heroes'
At a large suburban high school with roughly 140 black students, the process of putting on a Black History Month Showcase is instructive and pride-building, connective and community-building, say the parents organizing the third annual show.
Naperville North High School, which has a total student body of 2,825, will be the site of the showcase, called "An Afternoon of Exceptional Contributors: Unsung Heroes," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, in the performing arts center at 899 Mill St.
Inell Lawrence and Karyn Morgan, both leaders of the SUCCESS parent organization at Naperville North, believe so strongly in the positive outcomes of the performance that they say it's much more than a theatrical production.
"It's a living history lesson, really," Morgan said about the show, in which students, faculty and parents will act out the stories of black contributors who aren't widely known.
"Especially important with a small population of African Americans in the school, it brings about a coming together and helps students feel a sense of pride."
The show builds up black students, who get to show their talents as actors, poets, musicians and writers. It connects black students with their peers of other cultures, who also get involved with putting on the show, which Lawrence says highlights the collaboration among races over time. Plus, parents say, the show builds community through creating understanding.
This year, organizers are adding a new cultural dinner after the performance. Audience members and performers will come together over an authentic African stew made by a local resident, as well as foods such as greens and macaroni and cheese.
And they'll get to ask questions about the historical contributors highlighted in the show and the experience of being black in 2017.
"Afterward, it became almost a town-hall meeting," Morgan said about last year's show.
Preparing for the performance has taught teens about people such as Claudette Colvin, James Armistead and Daniel Hale Williams - all among the "unsung heroes" to be featured.
They've learned about the backgrounds and top accomplishments of Colvin, a teen civil rights activist in 1950s Alabama, who refused to give up a seat on the bus months before Rosa Parks' famous protest; Armistead, who was born into slavery but convinced his master to let him enlist in the Revolutionary War, serving as a spy who gathered intelligence that helped win the Battle of Yorktown; and Williams, a doctor who was among the first to perform open-heart surgery in the U.S. and founded an interracial hospital in Chicago.
"There's not enough time or attention devoted in school to black history," Lawrence said. "You touch on some of the unsung heroes, but there's so many more."
Many of the little-known contributors were young, a point not lost on the parents organizing the showcase.
"What we really want to get across to the students is so many of them were their age," Morgan said.
So many black Americans advanced civil rights, social justice, science, politics, business, medicine and more, and did it during times that seemed tough - just like now, Lawrence and Morgan say.
"We need to persevere, stay in school and stay positive," Morgan said, explaining her message to the black youth of her children's generation, "and understand we are as important as any group of people who made a difference in America."
If you go
What: "Unsung Heroes," third annual Black History Month Showcase and Cultural Dinner
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19
Where: Naperville North High School Performing Arts Center, 899 Mill St.
Who: Hosted by SUCCESS parent organization, Black Student Leadership Association and student activities
Cost: $6 for adults and $4 for students, $4 online reserved seats; $11 for adults and $9 for students, $9 for reserved seats at the door; $4 for adults and $2 for students for general admission
Info: naperville203.tix.com or NNHSSUCCESS1516@gmail.com