‘Black 365’ focuses on civil-rights era

Friday, Aug. 16, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

What: "Black 365."

When: 1 p.m. Saturday.

Where: 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

Tickets: Free.

Information: 734-7323.

"Black 365," a production that chronicles black history through music, dance and poetry will be presented Saturday at the West Las Vegas Library theater.

Directed by local playwright China Hudson, the production features poets Keith Brantley and Alan Jackson and video footage from the 1960s civil rights and Black Panther movements.

Gwen Baccus and pianist Mary Ashcroft will perform jazz selections. Rochelle Clark, local school teacher and storyteller will use music and dramatic interpretation to chronicle the journey Africans made during the slave trade, beginning in Africa and ending with the underground railroad.

Dancers from the West Las Vegas African & Steel Drum Ensemble and the West Las Vegas Performance Dance Theatre will end the performance.

Hudson said her inspiration for "Black 365" came from seeing a need for more year-round black history recognition.

"I just wanted to see something outside of February and Kwanzaa," Hudson said. (February is when Black History Month is celebrated nationwide.)

Hudson's play "Ourstory," a play that chronicling black history to a young girl who had ignored its significance in her life and culture, was presented in March.

Hudson said she has been piecing together "Black 365" for the past year. The production, she said, is as entertaining as it is educational.

Food vendors, local artists, photographers and craftsmen will sell food and display their artwork in the lobby of the library theater.