Sunshine Theatre Company, which is keeping the oral tradition in Anguilla alive through various performances, held its Forty-first Annual Celebration of Black History Month at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on Saturday, February 23. The theatre group is headed by Anguillian playwright and dramatist, Felix Fleming.
The weekend event, at which Marcel Fahie was the Master of Ceremonies, attracted the attendance and participation of various persons from throughout the island. Among them were members of the caste of several performances which Mr. Fleming has directed over the years, as well as many other persons interested in the performing arts and the cultural history of Anguilla.
The celebration began with the singing of the Negro National Anthem, the first verse of which is as follows:
Lift evr’y voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring.
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
The varied programme included the following: a poem by Dr.Lindel Brooks; a song entitled “I Believe” by Sandra Liddie-Gumbs; the reciting of Dr. Martin Luther’s speech “I Have A Dream” by students from the Teacher Gloria Omolulu Institute; readings by a group of persons entitled “We Came Before the Pilgrims”; other readings entitled“the Struggle”; “the Struggle Continues” and “Culture”, read by Victor Banks, Patricia Bygrave and Farrah Banks respectively and written by Felix Fleming; A word about Black Voices ll by Palmavon Webster; excerpts from Colville Petty’s book “Bless Our Forebears” read by Marie Horsford;a poem on the Baobab Tree – the biggest tree in Africa – read by Timothy Hodge; andthe reading by Marcel Fahie of an excerpt from a poem which he wrote about President Obama in 2008. There were also presentations by several other persons among them being Terry Harrigan, Patricia Adams and Ann-Marie Letang.
The two-hour event was a delightful way to celebrate Black History Month which was a period of reflection mainly in the schools of Anguilla.
