The featured performer for this event will be Mike Wiley, an actor based in North Carolina who has performed over 10 years in theatre, film and television. He will perform excerpts from The Parchman Hour commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders. In 1961, the original 13 riders boarded a bus in Washington, D.C. bound for New Orleans via Mississippi and Alabama. Over the course of the next three months, approximately 300 other riders took up the mantle and followed the path of those first brave few. Many were arrested and instead of posting bail, chose to serve sentences in one of the most brutal prisons in the south, Parchman Farm, proving the Freedom Riders and the movement to desegregate interstate travel would not be deterred. The Parchman Hour is a celebration of bravery and a call to action through remembrance.
Other highlights of the celebration will be students and community members reading essays, speeches and tributes highlighting the message of Dr. King and his teachings of peace, unity and equality in society. Special music will be presented by a community chorus under the direction of Diane Bryan-Leeper.
The Ashe Art Center is located at 303 School Ave, West Jefferson NC.
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