Wednesday, February 17, 1999
Pride learned through a play
Hays students get lessons on real-world issues
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hays Elementary School students were shocked to learn that some African-Americans bleach their skin to be accepted.
The eye-opener came during rehearsals for Thursday'sBlack History Month play, which also explores issues of education and jobs.
In the scene about skin color, fifth-grader Markita Robinson urges three others to have pride in themselves.
After Tuesday's rehearsal, Markita, 11, said that when she learned about the bleaching, it made her mad. She said it shows that these blacks lack self-confidence “and they are trying to make white people like them more.”
In the play, students compare M&M's to make the point that despite the color coating, the candies are all the same inside.
“It's kid-friendly, but the issues are real,” said Lakisha Edmondson, who is directing her second play since joining Children's Protective Service — Families FORWARD as a prevention specialist.
The hourlong play is titled Reflection to Projection, Past to Present. Each topic is explored from historical, contemporary and future perspectives.
Robert Kelly, 13, said that while preparing for the play, he learned that Dr. Carter G. Woodson started Black History Week 73 years ago. It was expanded to a month in the 1960s.
“The things that the kids are memorizing, learning for the play have a really strong message. ... The program ends with everyone reciting the Black Child's Pledge,” said Julie Theodore, assistant director for Families FORWARD, a private family resource center and United Way-funded agency.
The 65 or so students participating in Thursday's play attend Hays in the West End and/or live in the Lincoln Court apartments.
“(Hays) does not have a lot of extracurricular activities,” Ms. Theodore said. “The inner-city school area right here really doesn't have a lot. ... We've tried to bring that into the school.”
The students have learned other valuable lessons during rehearsals.
A student asked to operate the stage curtains after he had quit the assignment earlier. He wanted to return, he said, “because he had made a commitment to it,” said Mrs. Edmondson, a Hamilton native and 1996 Miami University graduate who majored in black world studies and psychology.
“I went and told him, "You commited to me. You have a responsibility,'” said Mrs. Edmondson, “and I think that even that is a learning experience.”
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