Ebony readers
The words and sounds of Blackness
Jackie Fomey and
Toi Carter
Staff Writers
“I must say that I am proud
not only to be the director of the
Readers, but also to be an Ebony
Reader,” said Sylvia Collins.
The Ebony Readers, conceived
in 1972 to perform at the BSM
Coronation Ball, were so successful
during their initial performance
that Herman Mixon, the director
at the time, decided to keep the
group together in an effort to make
them an important and successful
part of the BSM.
However, the success of the
group may be largely attributed to
Sylvia Collins. “What we try to do
is express a theme of Blackness
through the oral interpretation of
poetry,” Collins explziined.
Bernadine Ward, a novice
Ebony Reader agreed with Collins
and added that she would like “to
see the Readers expand to do more
than just poetry, like dramatic
interpretations of plays and short
stories.
“Also,” she added, “I would
like us to experiment with lighting
and costuming and solicit more
original poems to add more variety
to our performances.”
Wekesa Madzimoyo, a grad
student and Ebony Reader, feels
that the group needs “to under
stand fully their responsibility to
transmit our culture” and to focus
on the educational aspect of trans
mitting Black culture as well as the
entertainment aspect of it. “Hope
fully,” he said, “the Readers can
develop a set of by-laws which will
lead to prefessionalism.”
In their first performance, the
Ebony Readers moved their audi
ence through various themes of
militancy, love and African herit
age. Touching many ideas and
issues related to the Black experi
ence, this performance was very
emotional.
However, their April 20 per
formance was very poorly attended
and was, many of the readers felt,
not as satisfying to them as their
previous one. Andra Reid ex
plained, “We as Readers get
psyched up through the audience.
I don’t think the performance was
good as it could have been because
we didn’t get much audience re
sponse.” Both Beverly Wells and
Teresa Howie expressed their dis
appointment with the turnout
Wednesday night. “I thought the
performance was good considering
the amount of practices we had;
there were no practices which
■ everyone attended,” Wells pointed
out.
Although depressed with the
attendance at their last perform
ance, the Ebony Readers are look
ing forward to working together
next year and are encouraging
new members to join the group.
The Readers have performed
at Livingstone College in Salisbury,
at the Pan African Festival at N.C.
State University in Raleigh, at
Chapel Hill High School, at Great
Hall and at Upendo.
Not only have Ebony Readers
had more performances this year
than at any other time in their
five year existence, they now
have the largest number of partici
pants. The 17 member group of
oral interpreters also includes Dar
lene Belton, Bobby Best, Nathlyn
Bryant, Anthony Greene, Jelanie
Jawhar, Joy Johnson, Lillie Love,
Jackie Neal, and Roland Staton.
Enjoying their performances
and travel experiences, the group
is proud that it can bring enjoy
ment as its members expose their
Black culture to the campus com
munity.
Good Luck on Exams!
When blue books begin to sell like hot cakes, when
aspirins and coffee become prized possessions, when
that last check for that last meal on ‘the Hill’ prior to
Mama’s home cooking is written. . .we know what
time of year it is.
Here’s wishing you good fortune on your exams, and
a fruitful, enjoyable summer.
P.S. Yes, we do buy your textbooks
and we’ll be here this summer.
“ON CAMPUS ' .
STUdENT STORE