Under the baobab: Children, diverse cultures take center stage in Centre County
In the 1954 decision Brown vs. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated de jure racial segregation in public schools. Many thought that it would be easier to transform a white supremacist society to one that respected full equality by first teaching the children. They were wrong. The children were not tabula rasa but already imprinted by the white supremacy of their elders. We needed not so much to teach equality as to unlearn bigotry.
Now 70 years later, some of the children’s children are beginning to learn and act on what they know.
“Be True to the Promise,” a ceremony honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was organized and hosted by students from State College Area High School — Elana Laing, Rebecca Mariner and Justice Vactor. Live music was provided by the Quasi Quintet made up of State High students featuring vocalist Nora Goudie, Lake Black, Adam Hallacher, Sammy Hallacher, Nick Letwin and Elijah Snyder. DJ Lokey Howell and Siehra Mansaray provided other music. Waverly Huang, Alanis Preciado-Higgins, Rija Sabeeh and Leslie Laing provided spoken word performances. It was a wonderful event, well attended, sponsored by Laing, Gary Abdullah and the MLK Plaza Committee.
The committee also held a prayer service at the plaza commemorating the 54th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. King. Organized by Prof. AnneMarie Mingo, participants included Pastor Carolyn Hetrick of Grace Lutheran Church, Pastor Kate Heinzel of University Mennonite Church and Sarah Malone, the incoming pastor of Church at Filmore. State College Mayor Ezra Nanes also spoke.
The Paul Robeson Cultural Center held a birthday bash for its namesake. Students received awards for their outstanding accomplishments: Humanitarian Award: Maryah E. Burney, Iris Cholula Lopez; Athlete Award: Jaclyn Navarro; Arts in Activism Award: Miatu Kormah; Academic Excellence Award: Star Lawson; Image Award: Celeste Good; Pioneer Award: Erleen Escoto; Whitney H. Brown Award: Maya Robinson; Student of the Year: Michael Garza; and Social Justice Leader Award: DeAndre Malcolm.
Bellefonte Art Museum will host a special exhibition through May 29 — “Into the Light: A Tapestry of Art and Culture from APIDA.” It showcases contemporary and traditional art as well as craft works that have been created and collected by Asian, Pacific Islander Desi American artists and residents with close connections to central Pennsylvania. It aims to raise the visibility of the artists and their creativity and to celebrate life experiences of APIDA residents, the largest racial minority community group in Centre County, making up about 6% of our population.
The curating committee was led by led by Prof. Jooyeon Rhee, Dr. Nalini Krishnankutty, Hyeseon Kim, Shih-In Ma and Katherine Yeaple. Other PanAPIDA Circle Members include: Dr. Talat Azhar, Dr. Suresh Canagarajah, Vicki Fong, Sandy Fong, Judge Donald Hahn, Dr. Paul Shrivastava and Dean Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia. Exhibiting artists and collectors include: Audrey An, Azi Amiri, Christine Jung, Furong Zhong, Harley Ngai Grieco, Jaebee Ryoo, Jamal Amanova, Janejira Kalsmith, Joo Yeon Woo, Marissa Rojas, Michiko Kameda, Rachel Zhang, Trishanna Hodge, Varada Vaidya, Yeonghye Park, Corie Romero and Shih-In Ma.
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State hosted a weeklong residency for the internationally acclaimed “Small Island, Big Song,” featuring artists from Taiwan: Putad; from Papa New Guinea: Richard Mogu; from Mauritius: Kokol, Kan, Emlyn; from Madagascar: Sammy; from State College: Jeff Martin and from Marshall Islands: Selina Leem. The company evolved from visits to 16 island nations by producers Tim Cole and BaoBao Chen. They worked with more than 100 artists, elders, community groups and grassroots musicians. The company performed with students from the Delta Middle School Ensemble led by James Eldreth and Andrew Ulmer: Teagan Case, Matthew Chiarkas, Caleb Eveleth, Elizabeth Fowler, Bee Geier, Niki Karmali, Payton Kaminiske, Jeremi Kowalk, Drue Lincoln, Ellison Lincoln, Evelyn Love, and Erin Sandberg.
“Tell me your philosophy,
But it is the song you sing your child
that they will sing to me.”