Black Students Association is hosting a black history production in Cullen to promote black history awareness on campus.
The play, called I See the Fruit But What’s the Root, will include spoken word by IJ Bapeli, Dajonique Gordon and Taihja Tribble, a frehsman interior design major from Fort Worth.
Chris Daughtry, an ACU alumnus, is directing the production and the cast includes nine students Naomi Cole, a freshman biology major from Fort Worth; Alex Warren, a senior animal science major from Houston; Aliyah Ogletree, a sophomore music major from Fort Worth; Declan Slides, a freshman engineering major from League City; Noah Herring, a freshman kinesiology major from College Station; Quentin Bryant, a senior environmental science major from Riesel; Cerina Riley, a freshman management major from Missouri City; and Desiree Lacour, a freshman middle school English language arts major from Houston.
The production’s first official rehearsal took place at on March 28, and the show opens on April 14. Tickets will be $2 in advance and $5 at the door for anyone wishing to attend. Proceeds will go to BSA and the “From Boys to Gentlemen” mentoring program. From Boys to Gentleman is a program helping the retention of African American males, designed to foster academic flourishing and personal motivation, according to Daughtry.
“The inspiration for the play was given by working at Mann Middle School,” Daughtry said. “I saw first hand how much we fail to go past the surface of people’s actions to get to the root of their circumstances. We want to create a platform where people are heard so we can bring some actual solutions instead of just passing blame.”
Daughtry said he hopes as many students and educators as possible will attend the show, and thinks it will improve the sense of community on campus.