Paul Cuffee middle school students present a brilliant and moving performance on the children of the Civil Rights Movement.
On Friday, December 18th, sixteen middle school students ended the year with a brilliant and moving performance of We Shall Not Be Moved: The Children of the Civil Rights Movement. Playing to a nearly packed house, the young actors explored the little known youth who bravely stood up for their rights in the Deep South. People like Ruby Bridges, Sheyanne Webb, and Claudette Colvin dared to stand up, speak up, or march for the advancement of African Americans in a country that treated them like second class citizens. Others such as Emmett Till and James Chaney lost their lives for being Black in the wrong place while fighting for rights as basic as being able to vote or getting a good education.
The script, written by Robb Dimmick and based on first person accounts interspersed with iconic songs of the civil rights era, gave the student actors powerful opportunities to showcase their talent, knowledge, and passion for their history. The performance often brought the audience to tears with its poignancy and honesty, and collectively brought them to their feet at the end as the children called out the names of 16 child activists and said in unison, “We are the children of the Civil Rights Movement!” Several Cuffee middle school alumni returned to assist in the rehearsal process and perform on stage. Dimmick directed, Cathy Clasper-Torch musically directed, and PCS After School Coordinator Charlayne Osborne ably managed the entire production.