
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 14, 1993                   TAG: 9305140252
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PLAY TELLS WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

W.E.B. DuBois said that Booker T. Washington often failed to tell the truth about blacks in America because Washington was "dependent on the rich charitable public."

That statement was made without any rebuttal from Washington. A "what-might-have-been" conversation between the two men emerges in a play written by Ferrum College drama professor R. Rex Stephenson. "A Movement to Lead" is based on DuBois' and Washington's public writings and private letters.

The play attempts to engage the characters in a wide-ranging discussion of their diverging educational philosophies, their political and social theories and their mutual respect.

Funded by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, "A Movement to Lead" introduces issues about race relations that are still unresolved today. Discussions are held after each performance to encourage audience members to examine their own beliefs and attitudes about the best ways to achieve racial harmony and equality.

There's a performance tonight at 7:30 at the Reynolds Homestead in Critz. Call 694-7181. A performance Sunday at 3 p.m. is at Roanoke's Harrison Museum of African American Culture, 523 Harrison Ave. N.W. Call 345-4818. These two performances are free. A July 18 performance is scheduled at the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre in Ferrum. Call 365-4335.

by CNB