Black History Live

Actor and scholar Becky Stone will portrayed Rosa Parks in Colorado communities February 23 – March 3, 2020 as part of Colorado Humanities’ Black History Live tour. This living history portrayal gave insight into how and why Rosa Parks prepared for her pivotal act of resistance. Performances were followed with a question and answer time with Stone in character as Rosa Parks, and then with Becky herself.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Ms. Stone became a storyteller upon moving South. She holds a B.A. in Drama from Vassar College and a M.A. from Villanova University in Elementary Educational Counseling. Her acting credits include Lime Kiln Arts Theater, VA; Warehouse Theatre, Greenville SC; Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater, Asheville Community Theatre, Highland Repertory Theatre, Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater in Asheville and Merida, Mexico, and Asheville on Broadway. Ms. Stone has also presented at North Carolina and Colorado Humanities Chautauqua festivals and Black History Live tours as Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks.

Becky says, “There had always been an uneasy truce between black and white folks in the South. Emancipation granted citizenship to black Americans, but white Americans ended all progress by returning to slave-master protocol that was enforced by Jim Crow law. These laws went beyond segregation. They were designed to make black people feel inferior and whites, superior. By 1955, black Southerners had been oppressed as much as they could allow. They needed the right person to say, ‘No more.’  That person was Rosa Parks.”

Tour Schedule
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public, thanks to our partners and sponsors. 2020 locations included:

To plan next year’s program at your college, school or library, please contact Colorado Humanities Director of Programs & Center for the Book Josephine Jones at jones@coloradohumanities.org or 303.894.7951 x15.

Black History in Action

For our 2017 Black History Live tour, Becky Stone portrayed Harriet Tubman, showing audiences how one woman became an abolitionist who led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, a Union spy during the American Civil War, and one of America’s most beloved humanitarians.