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AUDIENCE REACTIONS about "Growing Up White on Wilson" at The Russell Theater & Roots-101 Museum...
'Proud to be a part.' --Lamont Collins, Founder and CEO of Roots-101 African American Museum.
'Riveting!' --Emma McElvaney Talbott, freelance writer, educator and human rights advocate.
'I have goosebumps!' --Terrian Barnes, former Yum! Brands Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
'It is a powerful testimony...he speaks for justice.' --Asso. Minister Nancy Tinnell, UMC
'It brought back memories of being African-American in those times...'--Sandra Ray Robinson, R.N.
"A fantastic show. I hope you get a chance to see this open and honest discussion about race."
"What a great show! I was in tears, being touched so deeply with the truths you are telling."
"This is not a sugar-coated journey through a man's life..."
The Story Behind 'Growing Up'...
Louisville, Kentucky in the 1950s. Bigotry. Racism. Cold, callous polarization, based on color and culture.
Don Ray Smith, as a boy, grew up literally on the dividing line between the city's Black and white worlds.
In the infamous West End of Louisville, a barrier existed that was as solid as any stone wall. It created Black and white worlds that exist to this day.
This is Don Ray Smith's one-man play about those times and trials--and life-altering decisions. Smith portrays over a dozen characters from his boyhood--Mama, Daddy, his siblings, teachers, a bartender, a teen crush, a punk friend. Cassius Clay, even. They all join with him to tell his personal tale of how racism is taught and passed down from one generation to the next.
Ultimately, they teach us how attitudes are overcome and redemption is won.