2008 Year in Review

CCC Presents Visiting Artist program Frederick Douglass

Mel Johnson, Jr

Frederick Douglass as a younger man

Clinton Community College is pleased to present the next Visiting Artist program. Audiences are in for a treat on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 as Mel Johnson, Jr. and Tom Dugan return to the Clinton stage as Frederick Douglass. In January 2007, Tom Dugan was directed by Mel Johnson, Jr. in his portrayal of Robert E. Lee. Now Johnson will be directed by Dugan in his role as Frederick Douglass. As an actor, Mel Johnson Jr. co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. He was a regular on the television show On the Air and has guest starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire and The Practice. Most recently Mel starred on Broadway as Mufasa in The Lion King.

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, who later became known as Frederick Douglass, was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland, near Hillsboro. When Douglass was about twelve, his owner’s wife broke the law by teaching him some letters of the alphabet. Thereafter Douglass succeeded in learning to read from white children in the neighborhood in which he lived, and by observing the writings of the men with whom he worked. As he learned and began to read newspapers, political materials, and books of every description, the young Douglass was exposed to a new realm of thought and experience that led him first to question and then to condemn the institution of slavery itself. In later years, Douglass would credit The Columbian Orator, which he discovered when he was around twelve years old, with clarifying and defining his views of freedom and human rights.

When he was hired out to a Mr. Freeman, Douglass taught slaves how to read the New Testament at a Sabbath school on the plantation. As word spread, the interest among slaves in the local community was extensive enough that on any given week over forty slaves would attend lessons. While Freeman himself remained complacent about their activities, other plantation owners became incensed that their slaves had been offered such instruction, and burst in one Sunday armed with clubs and stones to disperse the congregation permanently. In 1833 owner Thomas Auld sent Douglass to work for Edward Covey, a poor farmer who had a reputation as a "slave-breaker," where Douglass was whipped regularly. Sixteen-year-old Douglass was indeed nearly broken psychologically by his ordeal under Covey, but he finally rebelled against the beatings and fought back. Covey lost in a confrontation with Douglass and never tried to beat him again.

In 1836, Douglass first attempted to escape from his owner. He was unsuccessful. He also tried to escape from Mr. Freeman. This was his second unsuccessful attempt at escape.

Douglass successfully escaped slavery on September 3, 1838, boarding a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland, dressed in a sailor's uniform and carrying identification papers provided by a free black seaman. After crossing the Susquehanna River by ferry at Havre de Grace, Douglass continued by train to Wilmington, Delaware. From there he went by steamboat to "Quaker City" — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His escape to freedom eventually led him to New York, the entire journey taking less than 24 hours. Douglass "officially" won his freedom when British sympathizers paid the slaveholder who legally still owned him.

Douglass met Anna Murray, a free African American, in Baltimore while he was still enslaved. They were married soon after he obtained his freedom. Come meet Frederick Douglass and learn more about his life at this exciting performance.

The final Visiting Artist presentation will be an experience of Rwandan music as Samputu & Ingeli take to the stage on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Having emerged victorious from the fire of Rwandan genocide, Jean Paul Samputu has established himself as one of the most prominent African artists on the world stage. He travels the world as a cultural ambassador for Rwanda, brining to his audiences not only traditional African singing, dancing, and drumming, but also a message of peace and reconciliation.

Since the Visiting Artist Series began as an arts outreach program in 1973, the program has become one of the most ambitious of its kind in the country. The program presents the performances at no cost to the public. All performances begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the college’s Graphic Arts Technology Center (GATCI), 1951 Manufacturing Drive. For more information, contact Anne Schmidt at 563-244-7050.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
February 4, 2008