Share: 

Mary Ann Shadd Cary — Her Life and Legacy

Demanding the vote, Amber Rance, front, Ikira Peace, left, and April Singleton show their power as women.
Deny Howeth
February 29, 2020
A sign reads No School for Colored Girls, showing the reality that faced young black girls.
April Singleton portrays Cary as the first African-American woman in North America to edit a weekly newspaper - the Provincial Freeman, devoted to displaced Americans living in Canada.
Ikira Peace, who's sixth great grandmother is Harriet Tubman, is swept up in a performance.
Cary fought alongside Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton for women’s suffrage, testifying before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and becoming the first African-American woman to cast a vote in a national election.
The Three Harriets performed by Amber Rance (as Jacobs), Ikira Peace (as Tubman), and April Singleton (as Wilson).
Performing a familiar scene are (l-r) Omi Ames Davis, Marion Hammermesh block April Singleton from the ballot box.
Sharing Our Legacy Dance Theatre shows how lifting each other up and over barriers can benefit all.
Sharing our Legacy Dance Theatre Artistic Director Lynnette Young Overby performs.
In the Super Woman scene, (l-r) Ikira Peace, Amber Rance, April Singleton, Chelsea Gbermudu, and Omi Arnes Davis perform to contemporary Alicia Keys song choreographed by Peace and Rance.
The performers: Michelle Peebles, narrator; Amber Rance, dancer; Marion Hamermesh, dancer; Omi Arnes Davis, dancer; Christian Wills, singer; April Singleton, dancer; Ikira Peace, dancer; Chelsea Gbermudu, dancer; Ralph Russell, singer.

University of Delaware Dance Theatre performed Feb. 22 at Sussex Central Middle School in Georgetown. Sponsored by The Richard Allen Coalition Inc., the Sharing our Legacy Dance Theatre performance brought attention to Mary Ann Shadd Cary, the first black woman newspaper editor in North America. Born in Wilmington to a free family, Cary went on to become a lawyer, educator and suffragette.

The program explores the lives of African American women from the 1800s to the present, women who have offered great contributions but are left out of history. This performance incorporates poetry, dance and music to share stories about freedom of expression and equality for all women. As an educator, an abolitionist, an editor, an attorney and a feminist, she dedicated her life to improving the quality of life for everyone. 

The cast ended the program by carrying photographs of important African American women who made great contributions. 

The community theatre group has performed in Belize, Delaware, Alabama, and Texas with performers aged 11-72. For more information go to sharingourlegacy.org

Most Popular

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter

Most Popular