Candice Tinnon
Staff Writer
Former Jackson State University professor Yohance Myles thrilled audiences with music that tells the story of African-Americans and an inspirational message on Feb. 11, during the Untold stories of African-Americans: A JSU Perspective.
Myles, a Birmingham, Ala. native, began his presentation with a timeless music and encouraged crowd participation in the Rose McCoy Auditorium. The event was the first of four events to take place on that day.
The playlist consisted of songs such as, “I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown, “Don’t Stop till You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson, “Fantasy” by Earth, Wind, & Fire, “Keep Ya head” up by Tupac, “January 28th” by J. Cole, and “The Story of O.J” by Jay-Z.
Myles stated, “What is the JSU perspective? Well, whether you are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, transgendered, transformed, transitioning, empowered, enlightened, tall, short, dark, black, Polk-a-dotted, multicolored, whether you are a cup of coffee or a pot of tea, whether you see your life as a microwave, fast and ready to go or whether you see your life as an oven enjoying the process of life and cooked slowly and prepared to perfection. There is a careful responsibility of creating a perspective of dialogue that opens the window of observation and dialogue from the present and the past.”
He added: “We are all woven together in the beautiful array it represents as human life experience.” Myles expressed.
The event also featured J6 performing a rousing rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, a theatrical performance from MADDRAMA entitled: “If Knees Could Talk”, and a musical presentation from the Ritz Chambered Players.
Several members of MADDRAMA took turns addressing the audience with powerful alliteration to racial and polarizing events that have taken place in America.
“In order to become what we became, we had to learn the power of prayer and the power of being on a bended knee. Now it is true that we live in a country where race disconnects, politics divides us, religion separates us, wealth classifies us, but what we’re doing here today justifies us!”
The litany continued: “If knees could talk, none could speak fear quite like a black knee. Like a black knee like James Byrd [Jr.] in Jasper, Texas. Hitched up to the back of a pickup and drug so bad that the police later found his limbs in 81 different places. If knees could talk, none could speak pain like a brown knee. Dancing the night away in the pulse of the morning on the dance floors in Orlando where our same gender loving brothers and sisters secret place of refuge became their tomb.
MADDRAMA ended their performance by singing “Man In The Mirror” By Michael Jackson.
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