SOJOURNERS PROJECT: BUSING
AN INTERGENERATIONAL HISTORY OF “DESEGREGATION” BUSING IN DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SEPTEMBER 8-26, 2021
OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE AT RISING STAR MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
CO-PRODUCED BY IDEA STAGES & CONTROL GROUP PRODUCTIONS
DIRECTED BY ALICIA “LISA” YOUNG
The Masons are three generations under one roof in the time of a pandemic. Candice Mason represents the era of segregated communities and education. She is the holder of the key to knowledge, family and community. Her son Kimani Mason is in the sandwich generation, caring for both his ailing mother and growing teen daughter. He experienced busing in Denver and lost his dream because of things out of his control. Amari Mason is the granddaughter stuck in a virtual education system that is disconnecting her from friends, family and community.
The Mason family represents the eras of segregation, integration and the new virtual hybrid systems of education. They are the caregivers and owners of Chombo Basi Mashua (vessel-bus-boat in Swahili) a sentient bus who speaks with the memory, music and emotion of the folks who once rode inside its walls and the soundscape of the city they traversed. The key to this story is their love and passing of family history, culture and knowledge.
CAST
Colette Brown as Candace Mason
Fronzo Gilkey II as Kimani Malik Mason
Nylah Langford as Amari Khadijah Mason
Faith Angelise Goins-Simmons as Nasira
Gabriel Garyeazon as Daktari
Melanie Bindon as Puppeteer
SEE CAST BIOS
CREATIVE TEAM
SEE CREATIVE TEAM BIOS
VIRTUAL GALLERY
Please explore our virtual gallery to learn more about busing and Black history in and around Denver.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The family of Rachel Bassette Noel
Zoe Thomson Batilo, Ian Thomson, and Justin Franzen
Pastor Jules E Smith and The Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church
Deacons Mark Rice, Shelwyn Reed, and Eddie Washington
Allen Joesph and Artistic Monopoly
Meghan Frank and Theatre Artibus
Laura Lefkowits and her work on the Keyes Timeline
Sylvia Lambe and the Dr. Justina Ford Legacy Project
Amirrah Graham and Tiana Stewart
Rev. J Michael “Bear” Young
Adrienne Martin-Fullwood, Aubree Fullwood, and Amirrah Graham
FUNDERS AND SPONSORS
QUOTES
If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of our many ancestors. ~African Proverb
If you’re going to pursue revenge, you’d better dig two graves. ~ Chinese Proverb
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Truth is powerful and it prevails. ~ Sojourner Truth
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. ~ Frederick Douglass
Let’s put our minds together and see what kind of life we can make for our children. ~ Sitting Bull
If you walk in a room and there’s no one who resembles you, you think you don’t belong. ~ Cleo Parker Robinson
Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. ~ James Baldwin
To remember who you are, you need to forget who they told you to be. ~ Native American saying
Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity? ~ Cesar Chevez
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. ~ Rosa Parks
Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness. ~ Alice Walker
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. ~ Nelson Mandela
You know that you’re on some kind of journey. I don’t know that you get to make the journey. You get to respond to the journey. ~ Cleo Parker Robinson
