Magnolia Mound to honor Black History Month Feb. 25
The Friends of Magnolia Mound Plantation, in association with BREC, will present its seventh annual Black History Month event at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Slave Cabin on the grounds of the plantation, 2161 Nicholson Drive.
The production is free and open to the public.
This year’s event will be a dramatic presentation, a one-man show, about the first African-American chief butler at the White House, titled Looking Over the President’s Shoulder, by James Still, based on the book My 21 Years in the White House by Alonzo Fields.
This is the story of Fields’ life; not only about breaking racial barriers but also about the compromises an artist must make in order to earn a living.
Fields was an aspiring opera singer who gave up his dream in the face of depression at home and a world war abroad.
The story provides insights, some funny, some poignant, based on keen observations during his time serving four United States presidents — Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
Oneal Isaac will portray Fields. Isaac is an award-winning actor, storyteller and playwright.
He has been the recipient of an artist fellowship in Theatre from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. He also was arts ambassador for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and was honored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities with a Special Humanities Award. Isaac has worked in motion pictures, professional and community theater, improvisational comedy and public radio.
He worked extensively as the assistant director with PRIME TIME Reading Time, the LEH Family Literacy Program, now used throughout the United States. Isaac has been involved in each of Magnolia Mound’s six previous Black History Month productions.
The Friends of Magnolia Mound Plantation is a member organization of the Community Fund for the Arts.
Magnolia Mound Plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and accredited by the American Association of Museums.
This programming is partially funded by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.
For more information, call (225) 272-5487 or visit http://www.friendsofmagnoliamound.org.
Friends of Magnolia Mound Plantation