Joleen Cope
Staff Reporter
If you did not know, there was an anti-racism play that took place February 19th during all the class periods. This informative play was put on by Mr. Akers, his students, and Mrs. Lanning Dance class, and it talked about the Black Lives Matter movement that has been prominent lately. Disclaimer, this play did include content that some readers may be sensitive to.
Racism is a very serious and important topic to talk about, especially because of what most have seen this past year. Making a performance for this had many uncertainties, as many things could come off wrong, but Akers pulled it off. One of the things many liked in the performance was the dancing. There were quite a few numbers that the dance students carried out and they were all great. The imagery the dances created were great for those who may have needed a different way to see things. All the dancers are so talented, and the dances were beautiful.
Along with the dances, Akers and his students did presentations on power points they created. A couple students even spoke out using slam poetry. Each person's presentation was very informative on Black Lives Matter throughout the years and years it has gone on. The stories were touching from Akers talking about witnessing athletes standing up against racism on television in the 1960s, to one of his students acting out a graphic situation of a colored man in court. Each of what was presented opened many eyes and helped people who may have been sheltered from this information to see what has been going on for way too long.
Another element that was a nice touch was a question-and-answer session after the act was done. Students were able to ask the actors questions about what they may have been confused about or misunderstood. Although, a few questions may have been a bit controversial, the actors did the best they could to keep their cool and get their point further across. In the world, there are still people who do not completely grasp the anti-racism topic, but many students got a chance to learn more that day.
One point stated during the play that many people disagreed with was the fact that if you are not actively fighting against racism, then you are racist. This point was also stated as, being not racist is different than being anti-racist. This means if you are continually letting others be racist than you are not anti-racist and that is the main point that was meant to get across. The people who have been and are continually standing up against the racism that people still face are helping but they cannot be the only ones who are actually doing something. They want everyone to let go of their ignorance and step up in one way or another. One actor when answering a question said, “acting against racism is more than posting a black square on your Instagram page”. It is so important for everyone to help out.
The anti-racism play did a great job with executing the idea of racism and helping act against it. The actors, Mr. Akers, and Mrs. Lanning’s Dance class did amazing at opening everyone's eyes.
Image Credit: Kinberly Sandoval-Garcia
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