In a year when race relations have come back to the front page, who could be a more apropos speaker than Rosa Parks?
Known as the “first lady” of the civil-rights movement, Parks is being brought to life in Durango by Colorado Humanities in the form of scholar/actress Becky Stone performing Chautauqua-style.
What’s that, you ask?
“Chautauqua is a ‘living history’ program based on the premise that it is easy, fun and informative to see and hear scholars/actors play the part of historical characters,” said Bridget Irish, a former assistant dean at Fort Lewis College and current vice chairwoman of the Colorado Humanities Board. “The Chautauqua performers are really great – they are trained as storytellers and study their parts as scholars do.”
Stone will be appearing as Parks for Animas High School students Wednesday morning, then will make her main stage appearance at the Durango Arts Center on Wednesday evening.
“I got an email from her today,” Irish said last week. “She said she’s learned a couple of new things about Rosa she’s going to try to work in.”
Stone, who has had an extensive career as an actress, storyteller and teacher, uses real quotes by Parks, including, “The only ‘tired’ I was, was tired of giving in,” when speaking about her seminal moment of refusing to give up her seat on the bus. The presentation will set people straight on some misconceptions, Irish said.
Chautauqua, named for a lake in upstate New York, was a popular adult education movement in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its popularity stemmed, in large part, to the entertainment and cultural isolation of American farming and ranching communities.
“It was, and is, an engaging way to teach American history,” Irish said. “I’m hoping at some point we have a mini-Chautauqua festival for a couple of days in a big white tent in Buckley Park, bring in two or three actors. ... I heard people say last year, when we had Alexander Hamilton, that they were learning without knowing they were learning, that it was a fascinating history lesson.”
Irish would also like to see a program called Young Chautauqua brought to area schools.
“It’s very successful,” she said. “It’s an alternative way to teach history that’s so meaningful. You have to be so creative to teach history these days.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
If you go
Durango Chautauqua presents “Rosa Parks: Setting the Record Straight” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
