(November 30th--Jersey City) “The Right Dream”, a one-man Living Voices performance, was presented to the students at Explore Middle School.
“The Right Dream” follows the story of a young African American boy, Raymond, portrayed by Brian Simmons, growing up in a small town in Mississippi on the brink of the American Civil Rights movement. Living Voices combines dynamic solo performances with archival film and sound, turning history into a moving and personal journey.
6th grader Kymani Febo was grateful for the opportunity to watch the performance and the conversation that followed. “Not only was Brian’s portrayal of Raymond, a young African American during the civil rights movement, exceptionally good to watch, but it was also so informative on what type of treatment African Americans received during this time. We then discussed how to make sure these types of mistakes in society never happen again and what we can do to prevent them.”
With a monetary donation by the HCST Foundation, Jamie Velazquez, supervisor and social studies instructor, was able to schedule this presentation for the whole school. Students were very familiar and eager to discuss topics of segregation, racism, and prejudices after spending the 1st marking period studying a thematic unit on Human Rights.
Ms. Velazquez shared, “I want to thank the HCST foundation for always financially supporting our educational ideas and turning them into reality. The students were so entertained, they even invited Brian back to perform his show “The Road to Revolution” for our 3rd marking period theme of Revolution led by myself and Amy Garrett.”
To learn more about Living Voices visit: http://www.livingvoices.org/rtd/rtd.html.