Kim Hewson, a social studies and English teacher at the city's Shea High School, praises the performance: "To hear it presented here this way was inspirational, as it revealed so much richness of social, political and theological history."
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here," Melody Vasquez told a standing-room-only crowd Sunday afternoon at Mixed Magic Theatre, as she helped bring to life the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the weekend of the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights icon.
As eighth-century prophets and the Apostle Paul carried their messages about the Lord and Jesus Christ, the actress read, "so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own hometown."
When King penned his now famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in April 1963, he told "fellow clergymen" he seldom paused to answer criticism of his work because doing so would allow "no time for constructive work." And yet, confined in the Alabama city jail, King told the clergy he hoped to answer them in "patient and reasonable terms."
Once Mixed Magic's dramatic reading of King's letter, its third annual performance, concluded and an audience discussion began, Vasquez said she worked to deliver her lines in a steady cadence — "making sure I didn't go too fast" — so her audience could hear the words she had found "extremely moving."
The work resonated with an audience of more than 100 people of many races and ages.
Some sang or hummed along as jazz guitarist Kim Trusty performed ballads and folk songs from the civil rights era. Others called out, "yes," to sentiments such as, "Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily."
Actress Charmaine Gray's lines included, "First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate."
Addressing the audience afterward, she said, "Reading it helped me feel a little more free because it's still so relevant to everything happening now. Listening to the voices of the past was helpful," she continued, as she finds her "own identity as a black woman."
Actor Yakim Parker also read from King's letter: "I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."
Later, he told the audience: "The power of [King's] words have lost nothing over the years."
Kim Hewson, a social studies and English teacher at the city's Shea High School, praised the performance: "To hear it presented here this way was inspirational, as it revealed so much richness of social, political and theological history, in addition to sharing intimate details of the civil rights struggle of the time. These revelations of personal experiences permit a window of empathy for those removed from the circumstances to gain compassion and potentially seek ... justice."
Although King's words and actions ultimately led to his assassination, Hewson said, his letter "articulates so clearly a better society."
Then Hewson chatted with Trusty about bringing into the schools the music she said helps children "realize what fighting for freedom is all about."
— kbramson@providencejournal.com
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