The skanner., June 15, 2011, Page 7, Image 7

Arts & Entertainment
Juneteenth: Celebrate Freedom Breaking Ground in ‘Mary Poppins’
F
or almost 300 years,
African Americans
were forced into slav-
ery in the United States.
That shameful era came to
an
end
with
the
Emancipation Proclamation
of 1862. It set a date for
ending slavery: Jan 1, 1863.
Too bad, nobody bothered
to tell Southern Blacks. It
wasn’t until two years later
on June 19, 1865 that the
news reached Galveston,
Texas. Now, the message of
freedom was impossible to
ignore because it was
brought by Gen. Gordon
Granger –and 2000 armed
federal troops.
Imagine those celebra-
tions: the singing, the feast-
ing, the soaring joy. That’s
the essence of Juneteenth.
“The spirit of Juneteenth
is jubilation,” says Doris
Rush, chair of the Portland
Juneteenth Committee. “It’s
happy. It’s a celebration of
freedom, and it’s about free-
dom for everyone, not just
African Americans, because
slavery still exists in the
world.”
Celebrated at first in the
South, and now across the
nation, Juneteenth is recog-
nized as a holiday in 37
states. The Juneteenth
Worldwide website records
celebrations as far away as
Japan, Nigeria and Korea.
‘It blew my mind,” Rush
says. “So many Americans
don’t know about it, yet it is
celebrated
worldwide.
T h a t ’s
amazing.”
This year
Portland’s
Juneteenth
celebration
will return
to Jefferson
H i g h
S c h o o l ’s
sports field,
not avail-
able
last
year. The
Freedom
T r a i l
Parade will
assemble
o
n
Saturday
morning,
May 18, at Three members of the Juneteenth
Northeast Committee, clockwise from top left:
M a r t i n Doris Rush, Ora Lee Green, and Clara
L u t h e r Peoples
King Jr.
Boulevard and Jarrett Amanda Fritz; Multnomah
Street. At 11 a.m. the parade County Commissioner Jeff
will start out heading north Cogen; Portland State
to Killingsworth Street, University Professor Harold
before turning west toward Briggs; the Buffalo soldiers;
Albina Avenue. The cele- longtime business owner
bration will run from noon Paul Knauls; as well as
to 6 p.m. at Jefferson High classic cars, marchers and
dancers.
School.
At Jefferson, a ‘huge’
The 2011 Grand Marshal
is Bernie Foster, Publisher children’s area will include
of The Skanner News. He arts and crafts; tables where
says he is delighted to be a children can make father’s
part of an event that sym- day gifts; bouncy houses
bolizes so much to the and games. Harriet Tubman
African American commu- Middle School will be hold-
nity, and everyone descend- ing a times tables math chal-
ed from slaves. Also on the lenge from noon to 2 p.m.
On the main stage, the
playbill
are:
City
Commissioner
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
T
he
Fred
Meyer
Broadway
Over
America series presents
Mary Poppins – with the
musical production’s first-
ever African American
featured actress.
In an interview with The
Skanner News this week,
actress Q. Smith said she
exults in her edgy role as
Poppins’ viscious nemesis,
Miss Andrew (as well as
two other parts, Queen
Victoria
and
Miss
Smythe). Producers of the
rollicking musical describe
it as “not just a fluffy copy
of the movie.”
Smith’s past shows, most
of which have toured,
include “Les Miserables”
on
Broadway;
and
“Fame,” “Smokey Joe’s
Cafe” (two productions,
one starring Gladys Knight
and the other with Rita
Coolidge),
“Aida,”
“Joseph
and
the
Technicolor Dreamcoat,”
all off-Broadway; and
more.
The Skanner News:
Which was your favorite
PHOTO COURTESY FRED MEYER OVER BROADWAY
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
Q. Smith as Miss Andrew in ‘Mary Poppins’
role?
Q. Smith: I love this
role. If you’re looking for
the movie, you’ll be able to
see most of the movie in
the show, but also most of
the book is incorporated in
our stage production of it.
It’s a combination of the
book and the movie
together.
It’s very in your face,
it’ll bring you to a whole
new level of appreciation
for the movie.
I would say that the role
of Miss Andrew is proba-
bly by far my favorite role
ever. Also my favorite
show ever was Les
Miserables, I did that on
Broadway.
TSN: One thing I’m
going to be curious about
is how this Portland audi-
ence will respond to –
what is actually a more
accurate portrayal of
Victorian England – a lot
of people don’t think about
African descendents there.
Can you just talk a little bit
about that? Did it throw
you for a loop? Or do you
really dig into it or what is
your feeling about it?
QS: On two levels – I
mean historically and artis-
See POPPINS on page 9
See JUNETEENTH on page 10
The Portland and Seattle Skanner June 15, 2011 Page 7