On Sunday, January 29, 2012, the UTM Department of Music, Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages, College of Humanities and Fine Arts and Black Student Association presented Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance. This show was performed by actor Chris White and The Core Ensemble, including Tahirah Whittington (Cello), Chien-I Yang (Piano) and Michael Parola (Percussion).
The program included various pieces of literature and music from the Harlem Renaissance, including music from Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus, as well as concert music by Jeffrey Mumford and George Walker.
White played different influential characters of that time period, including Aaron Douglas, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. As he cycled through these characters, he highlighted significant parts of the trials of the African American community and expressed the words of the men at that time.
White said that this play is not only a simple representation of the Harlem Renaissance, but can give lessons to the viewer.
“Whatever obstacles you have, you can overcome them – that was one thing that I was really touched by when I was doing research about all these men. They were born at a time where if you were black, you couldn’t do anything. The odds were stacked incredibly high against you, and then you add on any kind of family problems you might have had or your own insecurities, and yet they still managed to educate themselves and strive for excellence. And they achieved it, and after a while, they thought they needed the support of others to continue to do that, but at one point they realized that they could achieve those things on their own, and they didn’t need anyone else’s validation. The one thing I hope the audience takes away from this is that if they go out and find out more about these people on their own, I think they’ll see that as a trend in their lives,” White said.
White expressed his gratitude for getting to be a part of a unique play that revealed the mysteries of the men of the Harlem Renaissance.
“I enjoyed getting to play four very different men. It’s very rare for any actor to get to do that. Usually, if you do get to play multiple roles in a play or musical, they’re very small, and you don’t have much time with those parts. It’s a big opportunity, and there’s so much to explore with their lives. And one thing I really appreciated was finding out the mysteries in their lives,” White said.
