2008 Woodie Awards
Did Essence of Heritage educate?
Despite all of the great performances, the educational value was lacking
Brian Moser
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Opinions
The tenth annual Essence of Heritage program showcased many talented Lakeland students whether they were performing as themselves or as somebody else in history. Unfortunately, the program lacked the element that it has done beautifully in previous years: teaching black history.
Before anybody jumps to conclusions, I admit that the program was chalk full of performances and people that signified black history. The problem lies in the way the program showed the history.
On the other hand, the performances were the backbone of the Essence of Heritage program and made it an entertaining Lakeland event. Anybody could see that the performers put their heart and soul into the event.
Over the past few years of watching Essence of Heritage, I have enjoyed both the performance aspect as well as the educational aspect.
The Essence of Heritage program last year opened my eyes to something I didn't know about black history, like specific inventors. I learned that Alexander Miles invented a safe way for elevators to open and close and George Washington Carver helped revolutionize the southern agriculture with his science of crop rotation.
I knew black people helped society with inventions, but I never knew the specifics of how the black inventors helped society.
This year, there were many skits that didn't teach me anything like the sit in. I learned about black people being oppressed in public school during history class. Watching racist white restaurant workers demean three black ladies didn't teach me anything new about black history.
Another confusing part was the club scene that was happening behind Jessika Bragg while she was playing the saxophone. I didn't understand what was going on behind Jessika besides a marriage proposal. Even that didn't make much sense in this program.
The Disco Era performers were fantastic. Jimmy Hendrix (Maurice Colter) was a little soft while trying to sing over the guitar, but the guitar play was great. The Temptations were humorous and well played. I personally liked U.N.I.T.I.E.S. because of their fun choreography. The only downside is that I didn't learn anything about the musicians besides their name.
Before anybody jumps to conclusions, I admit that the program was chalk full of performances and people that signified black history. The problem lies in the way the program showed the history.
On the other hand, the performances were the backbone of the Essence of Heritage program and made it an entertaining Lakeland event. Anybody could see that the performers put their heart and soul into the event.
Over the past few years of watching Essence of Heritage, I have enjoyed both the performance aspect as well as the educational aspect.
The Essence of Heritage program last year opened my eyes to something I didn't know about black history, like specific inventors. I learned that Alexander Miles invented a safe way for elevators to open and close and George Washington Carver helped revolutionize the southern agriculture with his science of crop rotation.
I knew black people helped society with inventions, but I never knew the specifics of how the black inventors helped society.
This year, there were many skits that didn't teach me anything like the sit in. I learned about black people being oppressed in public school during history class. Watching racist white restaurant workers demean three black ladies didn't teach me anything new about black history.
Another confusing part was the club scene that was happening behind Jessika Bragg while she was playing the saxophone. I didn't understand what was going on behind Jessika besides a marriage proposal. Even that didn't make much sense in this program.
The Disco Era performers were fantastic. Jimmy Hendrix (Maurice Colter) was a little soft while trying to sing over the guitar, but the guitar play was great. The Temptations were humorous and well played. I personally liked U.N.I.T.I.E.S. because of their fun choreography. The only downside is that I didn't learn anything about the musicians besides their name.
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