Bahamian thespian reprises US history
Last year Hurricane Dorian
visited and some might say
took up temporary residence
over islands in the Bahamas.
The storm wreaked havoc on
the island of Abacos lingering
longer than weather forecasters
predicted.
And while that devastation
established another indelible
historic reference to the tourism
friendly destination most
acclaimed for spawning Sidney
Poitier, Hollywood’s first Black
actor to win an Academy award
in the best actor category,
another distinguished citizen
stormed his way into theater
circles and is already adding
notation to the might of the
Caribbean haven.
Jonathan Farrington is the
name and since arriving to
these shores has been successfully
pounding the pavements
in a quest to conquer his goal of
winning against all odds.
He was not in the Caribbean
when Dorian struck but despite
a hectic schedule, volunteered
time and effort with the Bahamas
Consulate to assist with
coordinating aid to nationals.
Over this past weekend, Farrington
endeared students,
teachers, parents and patrons
of the theater to five performances
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Caribbean L 12 ife, January 24-30, 2020
in Harlem at the Theater
at Riverside Church.
Fifth graders from Manhattan
School For Children were
privileged to attend the first
Friday matinee performance
Farrington and an ensemble
cast delivered in a production
titled: “Turning 15 On the Road
To Freedom.”
It was no coincidence that
the timely showcases coincided
with the 91st anniversary
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
The dramatic musical is
based on a real-life historical
experience of Lynda Blackmon,
a native of Alabama who
marched from Selma to Montgomery
with the revered Civil
Rights leader when she was 15
years old.
The nostalgic story told in
her own words from adaptation
of a book of the same name celebrates
the victory of children
who defied Jim Crow laws, a
racist Gov. George Wallace and
an army of white resistance to
integration, voting rights for
Blacks and equality of all races.
Blackmon’s role was as poignant
and inspirational as that
of Sweden’s Greta Thunberg
whose mighty voice against
ignorance to climate change
endeared a global movement
and even irked President Donald
Trump, the most-known
denier to the phenomenon.
That at age 69, Blackmon’s
brave stance as a teenager
against state laws and her fierce
dedication to making America
great is not of the magnitude of
Thunberg’s effort may lie in the
fact social media and the world
wide web reaches more than
the three dominant television
outlets Americans relied.
Last weekend the child hero
watched her life story in reprisal.
She looked on with pride.
Jonathan Farrington. Miranda Barry
Blackmon smiled, applauded
and reflected on the Aug. 6,
1965 date the Voting Rights
Act was passed. She recalled
her birthday on March 15, 1965
and she reminisced her 21st
birthday when she was handed
a card permitting her to vote.
Farrington was not even
born then.
At that time his parents lived
under colonial rule as part of
the Commonwealth nations of
the Caribbean.
Perhaps focused on the 300
years of British rule, America’s
racism seemed of distant geographical
or sociological concern
to Caribbean nationals.
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