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Show WcdNEStUy, January 20, Chaotic! e Paqe TMbtcen ACCENT- - On Maw c MARTiN LuThER KiNq Jr. DA- y- flruaal tor rights rnfcu Unita Blaclcwell is lit' a strong achiever By Kelly Hindley Chronicle staff writer Mayor Unita Blackwell of Mayersville, Miss., was one of four panelists who participated in the "Women in the Civil Rights Movement" discussion Tuesday night in the Social and Behavioral Science Building auditorium. See page one for related story. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" asks Unita Blackwell through a long distance telephone line from Mississippi. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" The question is a rhetorical device, a turn of phrase Blackwell uses to punctuate her sentences. It is a habitual expression tacked freely into her conversation to bridge ideas, to smooth the way between thoughts. But the string of words makes up more than just some casual remark. Do you understand what I'm saying is BlackwelTs way of asking, Can you understand what I mean? Can a white from Utah understand the reasons, the need behind what I and thousands more like me did? What we still do? More than 25 years ago, Unita Blackwell decided there should be more to life than being trapped, uneducated and 22-year-- ignored in the Mississippi Delta. She that all men are created equal whether the founding fathers specified black people or not. The words are still there, she thought. The words should still be true. "It was a bad situation," Blackwell said. "We didn't have anything. We were discriminated against in every way you 1 can think ot. tier involvement with the civil rights I movement began when she walked into a Mississippi i courthouse one day and tried to register to vote. When she was prevented from registering, she realized it was time to struggle for a voice in the country's political system. She poverty-stricke- n believed in what the Constitution promised What can one person do to provoke change? Ask Blackwell. Because she wanted a voice in government, she founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Because she was dissatisfied with the quality of education available for her son, she organized a school desegregation suit considered to be a historical precedent. Because she was dissatisfied with the home ownership opportunities available to low income families in her area, she developed housing programs that later led to U.S. Housing and Development programs. She worked, she pushed, she struggled and she achieved. "One of my greatest achievements," Blackwell said, "is that I am a citizen of my country, my state and of the United States. "One of my greatest achievements is that I can register to Chronicle photo by Steven X'ilson Mayor Unita Blackwell of Mayersville, Miss., joined Salt Lake Mayor Palmer DePaulis at a Monday vigil to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Blackwell also participated Tuesday in a panel discussion on women in the the civil rights movement. vote, that I did register to vote and that I exercize my right to vote. "One of my achievements is for my son, that he could go to school and there were books for him to read. "One of my achievements is that I can walk down the street and white people don't tell me to get off the street and let them walk by." But her list of accomplishments continues. For the past 1 1 years, Blackwell has been mayor of Mayersville, Miss. She was the first black woman chief magistrate in the history of Mississippi and is currently vice president of the National Conference of Black Mayors. She is director and chair of the China Trade Missions for the World Conference of Mayors, and since 1973 she has visited China 15 times. She is never without a project to finalize, a committee to chair. And sometimes Blackwell, who has never taken a vacation in her life, thinks it would be nice just to stop and rest"But it's a life that goes on and on it's what you have to do," Blackwell said. Although its aims have shifted from political to economic equality, the civil rights movement has carried on, she said. And when America celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she said, "it celebrates that it does have a conscience, that it is for peace between its inhabitants." And Blackwell will continue working to remind America of its constitutional promise. - Dance Ensemble to honor King with campus performance African-America- n By Deanie Wimmer Chronicle staff writer "We welcome you with open arms to the dancing ground." That greeting, accompanied with chants and dances, introduced the African-America- n Dance Ensemble, performing Tuesday on the University of Utah campus. Dance Ensemble, composed of 18 The African-Americdancers and two musicians, brought African culture to the U. modern dance department as they performed rituals and dances to poetry, music and readings. An evening performance honoring the civil rights movement will be presented Friday and will include a peace a rally, a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and ritual involving audience participation. Chuck Davis, founder and director of the ensemble, is a recognized leader in African dance. He is known for promoting peace and love by teaching cultural respect and understanding. As part of this effort, Davis brings Africa to the U., as he has to thousands of people he functions as a liaison between African culture and American audiences by African presenting authentic music and dance of the black tradition. an Dance Ensemble Chuck Davis' African-America- n in noon the Olpin Union will perform Wednesday at and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Kingsbury Hall. Each year Davis visits different regions of Africa on a cultural tour. He presents movements to the dancers, who then spread the culture to their audiences. Davis believes theatre is an educational tool, thus it provides a means for him to preserve traditional rituals and share them with others. But theatre is not the only way he reaches audiences. He received the Distinguished North Carolinian Award for his service as chair ofthe Kennedy Center's Children and Youth Advisory Panel and as artistic consultant to the annual DANCEAFRICA festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. And in addition to forming the African-America- n Ensemble, he has long been behind the push for promoting African dance. His interest in dance did not develop until after serving two years in the U.S. Navy and three years studying nursing at George Washington University Hospital. He received his first formal dance training at Howard University, and later took classes at the Julliard School but not as a student. Davis would do anything to take dance classes even sneak in the side door at Julliard, which he did for three months before getting caught. In 1968, he formed the Chuck Davis Dance Company in New York, and finally, in 1980, the African-AmericEnsemble, which exists in Durham, N.C. Dance Ensemble Students can see the African-America- n in and noon Union the at Wednesday Olpin Friday at 7:30 Hall. in Kingsbury p.m. an |
