Spring 2013 Black History Production “Ruth” Tackled Topics of Life and Death.

This past spring, ACU students put in long nights of rehearsal to

produce a play that highlighted black culture. The play was about a woman

named Ruth who took a stand against violence, which resulted in her losing

her life. The remainder of the play portrays other characters’ reactions to

Ruth’s death. The play offered a dramatic analysis of how death takes

people on a journey that alters their perspectives on relationships, life, death,

and God.

The writer and director of the Black History Production (BHP) was

ACU alumnus Vincson Green III. His inspiration for Ruth grew from his

interest in examining how God wants people to view death. Vincson

expressed, in an interview with KTAB, “When someone’s taken from us,

when we lose life… I feel like God is in operation of just giving new life. In

some way… in light of the loss of life we have, He is indeed giving life to

others.” From this statement it is apparent that Vincson not only intended to

pay homage to black culture, but also to offer students a powerful lesson

about life and death.

The director of the Office of Multicultural Enrichment, Byron Martin

commented on the importance of an annual BHP: “The significance of

having a black history production is to remember, celebrate, and in some

cases mourn history. We call it black history month but it’s everybody

history, and so having a black history production allows us to remember the

good and the bad. Which hopefully we will use to inform and direct our

future.” The black history production is an annual spring event offered by

the Office of Multicultural Enrichment and the Black Students’ Association.

Written by: Keri Gray