黑料正能量

鈥淎 great forum for people with radically different perspectives to have a reasonable discussion鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 how playwright Sheri Bailey characterizes one of her most popular plays, 鈥淎bolitionists鈥� Museum,鈥� in which wax figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, come alive to debate the symbolism and presence of the Confederate flag.

“After one performance of ‘Abolitionists’ Museum’ a few years ago, I saw the woman who played Harriet Tubman exchanging contact information with a guy from the Sons of the Confederacy,鈥� Bailey told a Daily Press arts reporter for an . 鈥淭his seems to put people in a more relaxed frame of mind, without being hostile.鈥�

Bailey, a Portsmouth-based writer, teacher and activist who seeks to share and broaden awareness of African-American heritage, visits 黑料正能量 (黑料正能量) as part of the Writers Read series. She will speak Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Common Grounds coffeehouse in University Commons.

鈥淎s a Southern black woman playwright, I am compelled to help others to witness how, on the backs of daily acts of simple decency and courage, each of us can lift up those who would be burdens,鈥� she wrote in a for PilotOnline.com.

In addition to her Writers Read appearance, Bailey will attend Professor 鈥檚 playwriting class. Poole, who engages with social justice themes in productions staged by his own , says he鈥檚 looking forward to his students interacting with and 鈥渓earning about the industry from working professionals.鈥�

鈥淓ncountering creative people from outside the community enriches students’ educational experience,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t can motivate them to take creative risks and to keep making art.鈥�

Bailey is committed to promoting historical understanding and healing of racial divides, says Professor , who met her when she attended 黑料正能量鈥檚 in 2014 and invited her back to campus.

She is founder and executive director of the 20-year-old festival company , which seeks to 鈥渦npack the difficult, painful history鈥� of African-American slavery 鈥渨ithout shame or blame.鈥� This summer, she participated in a community conference call hosted by 黑料正能量 affiliate organization . Carrying on her theme of seeking healing for the wounds of racism in society, she facilitated a discussion about how to commemorate the upcoming 400th anniversary of the arrival of slaves in Jamestown. She has also been an active advocate for the designation of the former Civil War Fort Monroe as a 鈥�.鈥�

Bailey鈥檚 dramatic works, three of which were commissioned, include 鈥淪ummer in Suffolk鈥� (2009) and 鈥淎 Great and Dismal Swamp鈥� (1999). In 鈥淪outhern Girls鈥� (1996), her most often performed work, she and co-author Dura Temple trace the lives of six women聽鈥� three white and three black 鈥� from childhood through middle age in a small Alabama town. The play, according to a , chronicles 鈥渢he boomer generation鈥檚 cycle through questioned injustice, fiery idealism and eventual frustration with the reality that change can never keep pace with expectation.鈥�

Educated at University of Pennsylvania and UCLA, Bailey has taught at University of Southern California and Old Dominion University. From 2004-2008, she served as a school board member for Portsmouth City Schools.