TEAM Westport, the town’s diversity committee, has joined with four other organizations in a unique effort to promote teachings about civil rights issues to students at Staples High School.
Among those attending today’s performance of “Thurgood” at the Westport Country Playhouse were (l-r) Staples Principal John Dodig; Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon; Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Lynn Shain, and TEAM Chair Harold Bailey. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Harold Bailey, TEAM Westport’s chair, said the Westport Public Library, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport Arts Center and the town’s Department of Human Services have collaborated with the committee on an innovative three-week series of panel discussions, plays, art exhibits, music and cooking.
Today the Staples sophomore class traveled to the Westport Country Playhouse for a performance of the world premiere of “Thurgood,” the drama about legendary black attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, starring James Earl Jones.
On Thursday, the entire school will feast on a variety of Southern dishes, prepared by the Staples culinary staff.
“The civil rights effort involved an enormous number of people, from all walks of life. On a smaller scale, that’s exactly what’s happening with this event, here in Westport,” said Bailey.
“So many different organizations and individuals have come together to put a human face on the struggle for freedom. This is not civil rights in a textbook; these are sights, sounds and smells that are powerful and real.”
He said the groundbreaking event took shape when Lynn Shain, Westport’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, and Mary Lou Huisking, the school district’s Diversity Coordinator, approached the committee for help with the standard sophomore curriculum on civil rights.
The celebration began April 26 when Westport filmmakers Tracy Sugarman and Bill Buckley talked with video students about the making of their documentaries “O Freedom” and “The Lady at the Lincoln Memorial” (Marian Anderson).
Later that day, Sugarman spoke in the library about his participation in the Mississippi Freedom Rides, and the books he wrote on those experiences.
The next day Joel Lang, author of “Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery,” discussed the integral role of slavery in the economy and daily life of the North in general and the Westport area in particular.
After school, the jazz band met in a master class with jazz percussionist Damon Grant and his band.
May began with Chef Jeff, from Norwalk’s Jeff’s Cuisine, giving a soul food cooking demonstration to two culinary classes.
The viewing of the performance of “Thurgood” marks the first time the Playhouse—which provided teacher and student guides to the work—has collaborated in major programming with the Westport school system.
English instructor Michael Fulton prepared a lesson for all sophomores, based on the play, and advanced design and technology students created posters to advertise it.
On May 16, Playhouse artistic director Tazewell Thompson—who is also a playwright and director—will discuss his award-winning play “Constant Star” with theater and English classes.
Also this month, panels of community members will speak with U.S. history classes about their experiences as minorities. Groups to be represented include African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and gays and lesbians.
Ongoing events include a library exhibition of Sugarman’s sketches depicting the American civil rights struggle; art work by students in U.S. history and art history classes, and Westport artist Eric von Schmidt’s seven epic paintings, “Birth of the Blues,” now hanging on long-term loan outside the Staples auditorium.
Eight historic photos from the recently released Birmingham News “Unseen. Unforgotten” collection are also on display in the new Staples foyer.
“The amount of collaboration on this event is incredible,” Bailey said.
He said he is excited that this civil rights initiative is wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, and ongoing.
He said he sees it as a spark for other TEAM Westport projects, aimed at Westporters of all ages.
