Assignment: Read the following preface and article on legendary actress Ruby Dee. Write a 8-10 sentence response to the article that includes your thoughts about Ms. Dee and what you learned.
I wrote the following newspaper article for the January 30th 1995 edition of my college newspaper, The Statesman while attending SUNY Stony Brook. I share it with you because it was one of my first articles that I wrote for the paper and it gave me an opportunity to meet a living-legend, Ruby Dee. I guarantee you that you have seen her in a movie at some point (she played Denzel Washington's mother in American Gangster), but more importantly, she and her husband (the late Ossie Davis) are two of the great civil rights activists of our time. In fact, her husband delivered the eulogie at Malcolm X's funeral. Ms. Dee is a local celebrity and continues to live in New Rochelle, NY.
Ruby Dee, an acclaimed actress, writer, and speaker appeard at Stony Brook's Staller Center for the Arts. Thursday's special occasion coincided with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (January 15), and the celebration of Black History Month. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ms. Dee, here are just a few of her milestones: an Emmy for her role in the made for television movie, DecorationDay, an Obie. award for her stage performance in Athol Fugard's "Boesmanand Lena"; received critical acclaim for her performance's in Spike Lee's "Do The RightThing" and "Jungle Fever"; inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in I989, as well as induction into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame.
The topic for Thursday's event was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When Stony Brook President, Dr. -Shirley Strum Kenny addressed the audience, she said to the many young faces in the crowd, "It's you, the young people, who must continue what Dr. King had started." Two Stony Brook seniors, Norvis Huezo and Natasha Payne were recognized as recipients of Dr. Martin Luther King Scholarships for their academic achievements.
The Stony Brook Gospel Choir then set the stage by singing three beautiful songs in honor of Dr. King as a prelude to the star of the evening. And the night did belong to Ruby Dee. Appearing on stage to the thunder of applause, one had the feeling you were in for a special night. Dee speaking in her usual elegant voice gave the audience just one complaint - she spoke for only 40 minutes. She read aloud her witty poems about love, life, and her strongest inspiration of all...God.
She proceeded to speak about Martin Luther King, whom she apparently knew quite well. Ruby spoke about his strength, his uncanny insight, and his love for music, words, and most of all the human race. Her performance ended with the following words of wisdom: "The past is gone, don't relive it. Our work is here, let's do it. Our world is wrong, let's right it.- The battle's hard, let's fight it. The path is blocked, let's clear it. The future is vast, don't fear it. If fate is asleep, let's wake it. The day is ours, let's take it!"
After her-performance, I had the privilege to speak with Ms. Dee backstage and listened intently as she spoke about Dr. King and what she would ask him if given the opportunity. "I would like him to tell us the way out of the economic dilemma - that not only this country, but the world has, and how can we fit people into the new equations." Dee also left a message for today's youth saying, "Don't be distracted by the noise and the brutality. Continue the spiritual revolution that must happen before everything else falls into place."
Enough said.
I think Ms. Dee is a important part of our history. For her to be a historical figure and a(n) actress is surprising. I think Ms. Dee is an intelligent person of interest. I have done some research and it sounds as if she had a hard life. To be nominated for a film is a big accomplishment. She has studied and learned about her black heritage which made her more famous. It is interesting how she took responsibilities in the civil right causes. March 11, 2001, Dee and Davis received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild. At that time, they had been married and worked together for fifty-two years. On March 11, 2001 Dee received a lifetime achievement from the Screen Actors Guild
ReplyDeleteI believe that Ms. Dee is an important figure in our history. She had continued Dr. Marin Luther King's ideas. She had spread his ideas to the young ones. This was important to preserve his ideas. For example, Ms. Dee said, It's you, the young people, who must continue what Dr. King had started."Another example of how Ms. Dee preserved King's ideas was through his relations with him. She knew king quite well and told the people about his strength, ideas, race, music, and words. She gave a speech about King and was very moving. Ms. Dee has inspired us to be like king.
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