'History Alive' message: Know the past, shape the future

The Scholars Drumline entertains the crowd at Texarkana College's Black History Month celebration.
The Scholars Drumline entertains the crowd at Texarkana College's Black History Month celebration.

African drumming, entrepreneurship, fashions and more will celebrate African American culture during Saturday's "Keeping History Alive" program at Texarkana College's Stilwell Theatre.

Starting at 6 p.m., educational group The Scholars and Texarkana College's Black Student Association partner to present the program with a subtitle "Know the Past, Shape the Future."

Chiquita Burks and Rhonda Dolberry are two of the organizers for this year's program, which again includes Baba Kwasi and Ayubu Kamau, an African dance, drumming and storytelling group from Dallas, as featured performers. When the group was here last, audience participation was high.

"We're glad that he's coming back," Dolberry said. "We always try to give back and partner with another culture." Last year it was with Choctaw Native Americans from Oklahoma. This year the program includes a celebration of Hispanic culture, too, which involves TC students.

"They have a group of students that do Hispanic dance," Dolberry said. There will also be a folklore presentation. This aspect of the program promotes cross-cultural understanding.

"We feel that it's important that the kids learn all cultures because they come in contact with different types of people every day, so I feel like if you get to know these people you won't judge them. You'll find out that they're a lot like us," Burks said. "We're different people but there's a lot of similarities."

The program will have a fashion show, too, with both adults and children modeling. It's a fun part of the show with music. Fashions from local boutique The Couture Closet are included. A few Scholars students will present poetry, including their own poems.

"The kids also are going to have their products out for sale," Dolberry said. They've been working on entrepreneurship projects and "Keeping History Alive" will be a chance for them to share these products. Funds raised will help them attend Texarkana College's Kids College.

"They've really been working hard on that. We've had several workshops as far as teaching them how to pick their product, making sure there's a need for it-the demographics, how to price it, how to market it, how to sell the product and how to set it up," Burks said.

Students will first present these products at this event. They may range from bath soaps to candles and food, even woodwork. The products picked are based on student interests, what's cost effective and what can sell.

A total of 22 Scholars students are in the group. They recently visited Selma, Ala., where the students were invited to perform and participate in a parade. Selma occupies an important place in civil rights history because of the march to support voting rights and Bloody Sunday in 1965. Since then, groups have marched in remembrance of that seminal event.

"That was an experience, to march over the (Edmund Pettus) Bridge with everyone," Burks said.

These are the kinds of activities Scholars students are exposed to through the organization. Attending the "Keeping History Alive" program is a way to learn something new, enjoy the program and see what The Scholars are doing. "We're on a roll, we're up and soaring," Dolberry said.

(Admission: $10 for adults, $5 for youth. Tickets will be sold at the door. People can also get them in advance by calling Rhonda Dolberry at 903-276-8813 or Chiquita Burks at 903-826-8884. Stilwell Theatre is located at 2500 N. Robison Road on the Texarkana College campus in Texarkana, Texas.)

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