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Wilson students’ program delivers powerful message
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Members of an eighth-grade social studies class at Wilson Middle School help display a banner during a play called “K.C.’s Dream.” The play was part of the Black History Project presented Thursday at the Youngstown school on the city’s South Side.
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Ja'Braylon McClendon plays K.C(foreground) and Kenneth Cunningham plays George W. Carver (middle) in their 8th grade social studies class play, "K.C.'s Dream." during the Wilson Middle School's Black History Month program Thursday afternoon.
Wilson students’ program delivers powerful message ...
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
'Together We Can If We Believe in Ourselves.” That was the message of the Black History Project presented by Woodrow Wilson Middle School students.
The program included singing, dancing, a play, poems and presentations about black history and prominent people within it.
“This is the first time we’ve had a program here where all the actors and actresses are from Wilson Middle School,” said Principal Jerome Harrell.
Irene Ferraro, the eighth-grade social-studies teacher and drama coordinator of Thursday’s program, said students started working on the project about six weeks ago. Music teacher Alicia Anderson was program coordinator.
“We started to study different countries, and so I asked if we could find a play that would fit with the Black History Project,” Ferraro said.
The play she found was “K.C.’s Dream,” about a boy who goes to sleep feeling bad about himself after some other kids, who are racist, tell him that he isn’t as good as they are.
The boy, K.C., is portrayed by Ja’Braylon McClendon.
During the night, he’s visited by black people who have played prominent roles in history, starting with runaway slave Harriet Tubman, portrayed by Dyshia Stone.
Her visit is followed by appearances from inventor George Washington Carver (Kenneth Cunningham), businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker (Tonneiqua Shade), crooner Nat King Cole (Matthew Fisher), civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Taurean McCullough), talk-show pioneer Oprah Winfrey (D’Zyre Lewis), basketball star Michael Jordan (Gerald Walker) and President Barack Obama (Mark Leventry).
Each of the visitors tells K.C. about how he or she had to overcome adversity to accomplish things and how believing in themselves helped them to do it.
“Thank you all for coming to see me; you taught me to believe in myself,” Ja’Braylon said.
The program also included poems read by Jessyka Shackle-ford, who also narrated, and a rousing delivery by Sidney Jordan of an excerpt from King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Sidney put his all into the speech, raising his hand and even imitating the cadence of the late orator.
The school’s band, choral ensemble and chorus with soloist Deaysha Butler also performed along with the mime team, Sweet Inspirations, which includes De’Aysha Butler, Teresa Crum, Tyler Johnson and Raven Rutledge.
Dancers Carson Flakes, Lynell Lockhart and Ramses Terry showed off their hip-hop skills, generating squeals and screams from many of the audience’s young female members.