Explore Black artists' contributions, history at 'Essence of the Arts' showcase in Sheboygan

SHEBOYGAN — A free community celebration for Black History Month will take place downtown Feb. 24.

Sheboygan Area Black-American Community Outreach, Lakeland University and the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts are collaborating on the Essence of the Arts showcase, featuring dance, music and an educational wax museum.

The celebration follows the national Black History Month theme of “African Americans and the Arts,” recognizing Black influences and preservation of culture and history through the arts. This impact spans art forms — literature, music, fashion, culinary, folklore — and movements, like Black Renaissance, hip-hop and Afrofuturism.

Past themes from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founders of Black History Month, include “Black Resistance” and “Black Health and Wellness.”

The local showcase will bring about a dozen performances and acts to one stage, including dance, spoken word, a skit and musical acts, brought forth by local students, community members and a dance group.

Showcase expands Lakeland's Black History Month celebration

Essence of the Arts is an expansion of Lakeland’s Essence of Heritage performance held during Black History Month, giving Black students the space to perform and share ancestral stories, whether through plays, skits, dance, music or poetry. It has been hosted for more than 20 years, led by the Black Student Union and Beta Sigma Omega fraternity.

Corey Roberson, director for leadership and student engagement at Lakeland, said Essence of Heritage “showcases our talents we had from all walks of life as a collective.”

Remembering influential Black dancers: Black History Month: Remembering historical Black dancers Josephine Baker and Alvin Ailey Jr.

Roberson, who partnered with students to reinvigorate Essence of Heritage 10 years ago, bringing it to a higher performance level, said this year was the perfect time to bring it to a larger, central stage in the community. The showcase at the Weill Center will be the first time some students have been in a theater of its kind and share the space with past talented acts, he continued.

“For us to be able to share that stage, at that level, I think this is huge,” Roberson said.

Art has been a central piece in Black history, from basket-weaving and song during slavery to hip-hop during the 1980s and 1990s that served as a crucial medium to discuss social and political issues, to Afrofuturism, imagining how a future where Black people can live without oppression can intersect with technology and science in literature, visual arts and more.

Jamie Haack, Essence of the Arts planning committee member, said looking back at influential Black writers and artists can be beneficial to shaping community “in the here and now.”

“I think a lot of times, maybe we don't as neighbors get as big of a peek into the African-American community that exists here in Sheboygan,” Haack said. “This is just another way to take a peek, get to know, understand better, make friends. And really, the more you understand one another, the better we can all coexist and live.”

Haack, who grew up in Sheboygan, doesn’t recall a Black History Month celebration of this size being held in the city before. She said the showcase is an invitation to the greater Sheboygan community to learn and engage with Black culture through an artistic lens, which can foster a better sense of understanding.

Roberson said, “I think we're all going to learn something, no matter if you grew up in a Black family or not."

Hip-hop dance group, Black-owned vendors and more

During the pre-showcase meet-and-mingle, there could be Black-owned vendors like To the Bone BBQ, Brown Suga Bakery and Ms. Nita’s Kitchen, a silent auction and music from Minor Worries Band. Sheboygan North High’s Black Community Organization will also display the “What’s Your Shade” art project.

Essence of the Arts is expected to have praise dances, spoken word, poem recitation, music and a Black National Anthem performance. There will also be a skit, hip hop dance feature from Mizz Bre & Street Elite Dance Academy and a keynote address from 2003 Lakeland University alum and owner of Run The Race Performing Arts Ministries, LLC James C. Hayes.

A tribute will be given in honor of Dr. J. Garland Schilcutt, an influential and long-tenured Lakeland faculty member who passed away in 2018.

North High School students, Lakeland University Black Student Union and Beta Sigma Omega members, Power of Praise Dance Tribe and community members will be among performers. Local mentor Rodney Ellison will emcee the showcase.

What to know about event times and tickets

Essence of the Arts will be at the Weill Center, 826 N. Eighth St. A meet-and-mingle with BACO leadership will take place 5-6 p.m. and the showcase will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Doors for the showcase will open at 5 p.m. Tickets are free.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner. 

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Black History Month celebration Essence of the Arts set in Sheboygan