LearnChicago! Southwestern College sees “Flyin’ West”
Joe Taylor, Program Facilitator, describes attending the theater event “Flyin’ West” with a Learn Chicago! group from Southwestern College.
Last week, I had the chance to see Flyin’ West by Pearl Cleage with a LearnChicago! group from Southwestern College (Winfield, KS). The performance done at Court Theater in Hyde Park was a remarkable look at the strength of a community of African American women in Kansas. What I was really excited to see was a story about African American women by an African American woman that showed the courage of these travelers and their commitment to family. The show us was able to personally expose me to a part of history that was overlooked in my educational upbringing and I would guess happened for many people.
The show tackles many important topics such as abuse and self-hatred, but I never felt that it was trying to preach to me, rather trying to expose the intricacies of the topics. The performance on stage by the entire company moved me and my entire group; leaving many of us speechless us we left the theater that evening.