Black History Month
Back History Month at Wheaton provided several opportunities for students to participate in lectures, forums and performances. Two of the February events, however, featured something special--returning alumnae/i who offered students rare glimpses into the personal struggles and triumphs of their lives.
Actress, writer and educator Rose Weaver '73 presented "Up by My Bootstraps: Self-Reflection through Dramatic Writings and Songs" to a capacity crowd in Mary Lyon Hall. A much-honored performer--she recently earned rave reviews in Trinity Repertory's production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson--Weaver artfully led the audience through the trials and joys of "Rosetta,"an alter ego represented on stage by a rag doll crafted by Weaver herself.
"I call her 'Little Me'," Weaver said, "because she's a part of me."
Weaver mesmerized the audience with rich renditions of familiar standards, like Nina Simone's "Four Women" and "Miss Celie's Blues" by Quincy Jones. A recently minted M.F.A. from Brown University, Weaver offered just a taste of her original work, singing, swaying, and speaking through vignettes of life. Particularly poignant were "Dear Father, Dad, Pop," the words of a child to her absent father, and "Dear Auntie Marion," an exchange between young Rosetta, a sharecropper's daughter, and her more urban Aunt Marion.
"We come from a tradition of storytelling," Weaver said of herself and Rosetta. "We have to hold onto every part of our culture."
Shawn Boone '00 returned to campus to speak about the intersection of race, homosexuality and religion in his own experience and to lead a discussion of the issues in the larger community. He began the forum by showing "All God's Children," a documentary that chronicles the struggles of African-American gay men and lesbians within the church.
"I was too white for the black kids, too black for the white kids, too effeminate for the straight kids, too masculine for the gay kids," Boone said of his childhood. "I was a nomad."
Boone described Wheaton as "a new beginning" for him on the road to self-discovery. "At Wheaton I felt tolerated and accepted," he explained. However, not all his adult experiences have been so fortunate. Boone also shared the story of his youth ministry cut short by his coming out. "The minister told me to marry a masculine woman," Boone said of his boss. "She took my position away, believing I was no longer a good role model."
Boone was able to prove himself in other ways. The religion and psychology major served as a hospital chaplain for four years, and has done extensive work with Massachusetts high schools to develop and implement an AIDS education curriculum.
His program for Black History Month concluded with a group discussion of how sexual orientation is viewed within the religious and educational contexts, allowing students to share their own stories of friends, family and themselves.
