On the front of the ‘Harlem: A Black History Celebration’ program for Wirt-Emerson Visual Performing Arts Academy, there’s a quote from poet Langston Hughes that reads: “An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.” The students at Wirt-Emerson exemplify Hughes’ quote, as on Tuesday morning they put on the program -by them, for them- and showcased their talents. Bringing together poetry, dancing, singing, a jazz band, and a few historical figures ‘Harlem’ not only shined a light on Wirt-Emerson ‘s homegrown talent, but the talented artists that came before them.
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Wirt-Emerson puts a strong emphasis of student driven leadership. It’s a school that lets the students drive their dreams, as long as they’re determined to reach them. As Tuesday morning’s program was created by a student, it really was a showcase of what they can accomplish. Corrion Davis, Wirt-Emerson sophomore and the program’s director, got the idea of a school wide Black History celebration, took the idea, and ran with it.
“I realized that we didn’t have a Black History program that we did consistently, so I decided to take it up on my own.” Davis explained. “From then I went around and asked various teachers ‘If we had something like this, would they participate?’. We had all the yeses we needed from the arts teachers, and from there we got the ball rolling.”
But why the Harlem Renaissance? Davis stated that it was a period the encompassed all that he wanted to demonstrate to the school - artists that let his generation have their artistic freedom.
“The Harlem Renaissance was really a period where African American musicians, poets, writers - artists - made a name for themselves so it made sense for us to focus on the talent that comes from that period.” Davis stated. “It’s important, not matter what ethnicity, to know where they came from and I wanted to let the students see who paved the way for African Americans in arts.”
The program let every area of the performing arts take the stage. The school’s jazz band performed pieces from Duke Ellington, the middle school choir got the chance to sing under the spotlight, dancers performed a piece called “Nubian Odyssey”, there was spoken word, piano performances, a group of middle schoolers dressed up as famous figures from the Harlem Renaissance, the backstage crew got to work their magic, and more. The program showed off the full gamut of the student’s abilities, and not only impressed the audience, but also everyone who took the stage. Klaudette Spencer, Wirt-Emerson senior and Mistress of Ceremony for the morning, was no less astonished than everyone else.
“It’s always amazing to see the students showcase their art. I was taken aback by one of the performers when I heard her singing, because I’ve never heard her sing. When she was standing on the stage, and her voice gave me chills.” Spencer explained. “A lot of the time we don’t talk about Black History in a serious setting - we don’t have an African American History class - so when we have a program about a history that’s so raw and true to our community it’s just really, really exciting.”
In all, ‘Harlem: A Black History Celebration’ not only let the kids take part in a program which let them experience something vital, but was also a celebration of the students’ achievements as artists. Antuwan Clemons, Gary Area Schools Board President, summed the morning by explaining that it’s a program that needed to happen, for the good of the school and their community.
“I really am speechless. The amount of talent that we saw today was just outstanding. As a performer myself and an entertainer by trade, it’s very just raw entertainment. It’s was an example of the arts being highlighted in the city of Gary.” Clemmons stated. “Emerson has a long standing history of doing things like this. It’s really good to see that despite the hardships these students might go through day by day the students are still working hard to have that energy and passion to do what they love to do. This is something we need as a community. It just brings joy to my heart.”