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Surrounded by singers from Howard University, Ben Vereen performs the final song of his act, bringing to a close the We Are One People fundraising gala at the Warner Theatre in Washington to raise money for the U.S. National Slavery Museum.
A crowd of onlookers surrounds Bill Cosby on Saturday night at the Warner Theatre in Washington. Cosby and Ben Vereen were Fredericksburg residents (from left) Shirley Robinson, Jeanette Ellis and Sidney Robinson meet Chien Chung Pei, architect of the U.S. National Slavery Museum, at a gala Saturday night. The museum is planned for 38 acres in Fredericksburg. |
WASHINGTON--Attention, white people.
When historians speak about slaveholders, about their role in what is undoubtedly this country's most shameful institution, they're not talking about you.
So relax, already.
"You didn't do it. It goes waaaaaaayyyyyy back," comedian Bill Cosby joked Saturday night to a crowd of 1,100 at the U.S. National Slavery Museum's fundraising gala at the Warner Theatre.
He used humor to deliver a serious invitation: It's about time America--blacks and whites--engaged in a blame-free, guilt-free conversation about a key piece of this country's history.
"If you're here now, you didn't do it. Get that out of your mind," he said, drawing laughter from an audience of all races. "Relax, man. Nobody's looking at you like you did it.
"That's why we need a museum--because you didn't do it," he continued. "If you can just get a comfort zone of talking about it."
Supporters of the U.S. National Slavery Museum say it will provide just that--a venue where visitors can learn about the cultural, political and economic impacts that slavery had on this country.
The museum isn't about stirring up controversy. It's about setting the record straight, said Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder, former Virginia governor and head of the museum project.
"Slaves were not brought here. Free people were brought here. They were made slaves," Wilder said. "The U.S. National Slavery Museum will not cast blame, impart guilt or polarize around issues such as reparations. We're not asking anyone to do anything other than be educated."
The $100 million museum, which is being designed by architect Chien Chung Pei, will be built on 38 acres in Fredericksburg's Celebrate Virginia development, on a hill overlooking the Rappahannock River.
Organizers say they've raised about $50 million so far in cash and pledges toward the project, and Saturday night's event was a big push to raise the rest.
"It's good to see a lot of people involved," Wilder said at a reception before the show, where about 150 supporters milled around and posed for pictures with Cosby. "I think that what it begins to do is show that people are serious."
Cosby and entertainer Ben Vereen headlined the event, which also featured performances by Afro Blue, an a capella group from Howard University, and presentations on the museum's architecture and exhibits.
"It was phenomenal," Fredericksburg resident Tammi Jenkins said after the show. "I wouldn't have expected this huge of a crowd. The enthusiasm and the energy in here were awesome."
"Long overdue," added her friend Patricia Pace of Centreville.
The crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening's events, and several people specifically mentioned a presentation by Lyn Henley, who is designing the museum's exhibits.
Using slides to show how the museum might look, she described how visitors would start off by experiencing life in a 15th-century West African village before being separated from their loved ones and crammed into the hold of a replica slave ship, where they would get a taste of what it felt like to endure the Middle Passage (for families with young children, there's a milder option).
Other exhibits focus on the experience of slaves once they arrived in America, on their thirst for freedom and their efforts--and those of their descendants--to overcome racism and prejudice.
"The complete story of American slavery is one of the best-kept secrets," Henley said. "What this museum offers the nation is the peace of mind that can only come with complete honesty."
DiAndra Clarke, 18, and her sister, Letesha, 17, said they were excited to see that so many of the exhibits were interactive.
"I know I want to see it now that I have a visual," said DiAndra, a senior at Brooke Point High School in Stafford.
Stephanie Wilkins of Fredericksburg is interviewing for teaching positions at local elementary schools. She said the museum will be a tremendous resource.
"I definitely can't wait to go to the museum," she said. "I start teaching in the fall. I can't wait to take the students there."
Some of those in attendance paid up to $300 to see the show and attend receptions with Cosby and Vereen both before and after the main event. The entertainers did not disappoint, giving top-notch performances interwoven with pitches for the museum.
Cosby urged the media to focus on the value of the project rather than the controversy associated with talking about slavery.
"The Washington Post needs to take us seriously. The Washington Times needs to take us seriously. It's not necessary to find out if there's controversy about a museum, a place of learning, a place of education," he said. "The only controversy is going to be the truth of this museum--which is not going to be, 'Go out and find a white person and beat him in the head.' That's not what it's going to be about."
Vereen's boundless energy was contagious, and he had the entire audience snapping and clapping along as he sang and danced in a tribute to the late Sammy Davis Jr. Between numbers, he talked about the importance of establishing the slavery museum.
"In my lifetime, I have been colored. Then I became Negro. Then I became black. Now, I'm African-American. People, I'm from Brooklyn," he said to laughter and applause. "In the words of that great philosopher, that great poet, Rodney King, 'Why can't we all just get along?' I think the museum is going to do that for us."
He and Afro Blue ended the evening with a rousing version of "Stand by Me," with Vereen substituting "U.S. National Slavery Museum" for "me" in the lyrics.
"We're starting on a journey, ladies and gentlemen, and it doesn't end tonight. Take this message back to your communities, your schools, your churches, your seats of government: We want a slavery museum," Vereen said.
"I have a vision that on the day this place opens, the line getting in will stretch from Virginia to New York and all the way to California. How big is your vision?"
For more information about the U.S. National Slavery Museum, visit usnsm.org on the Web.
To reach EDIE GROSS:
Email: egross@freelancestar.com
| 'We're starting on a journey, ladies and gentlemen, and it doesn't end tonight. We want a slavery museum.' Ben Vereen, entertainer |
