SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Jackie Warren-Moore used her words as a weapon to inspire change within the Central New York community.
Now, a local theater company is looking to do the same.
For the second year in a row, The Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company is hosting the Jackie Warren-Moore festival this Saturday night.
An activist, educator and poet, Warren-Moore was an advocate for Black creative artists within the Syracuse community. In 2021, she was named as Onondaga County’s first poet laureate for her contributions.
“To perform opposite her– the power in her voice, and in the character that she played, just blows you away,” theater board member Karin Franklin-King said.
Franklin-King is a co-producer for this year’s celebration, and is looking to provide a platform for black and brown artists to tell their stories through their own lenses.
As one of only two black theater companies in Syracuse, Franklin-King hopes that through monologues and poetry, the Jackie Warren-Moore festival can get people to realize the power of their words.
“When the young people who are involved in the show are seen by the young kids in the audience, they’ll go…whoa, look at that, I could do that, how do I do that? I want to know how to do that,” Franklin-King said.
Herbert A. Merrick, a local actor from Syracuse, will be performing a monologue called “Tired” at this year’s festival. “Tired” will be told from the perspective of a gentleman who is dealing with problems in America.
Merrick believes that this celebration is not just for the actors, but for the community and for people who want to participate.
“They can come see just for the one night…and carry on the legacy of all the positive things that Jackie Warren-Moore led on to do,” Merrick said.
According to Franklin-King, Jackie Warren-Moore witnessed her mother stop a car as a child, to take out a tire iron and help a black man who was being beaten up. Although she couldn’t do that, Warren-Moore realized from that moment on, she could use her words as a weapon.
“That’s what we want to do. Get people to use words instead of a weapon. Use your words,” Franklin-King said.
The festival will start at seven in the evening, and will be at the Kirkland Hall Stage at Plymouth Church. Admission is free, but people can donate through mail or the company’s website.