Courage to Dream concert coming to Mechanics Hall to celebrate Black History Month

USA Today

30-01-2025

Courage to Dream concert coming to Mechanics Hall to celebrate Black History Month
On the night of Feb. 8, Mechanics Hall will fill with song, story and celebratory spirit at the Courage to Dream concert, the centerpiece of Lancaster-based Kingdom Voice & Music's third annual Black History Month Celebration.
Celebrated Boston spoken-word artist Amanda Shea will step up to the mic. The a cappella group 5th Blend and children's gospel choir King's Kids will harmonize. Kingdom Voice & Music founder and singer-songwriter Kirosha Sidelca will not only direct two choral performances but will also take a turn in the spotlight herself.
Most importantly, actors Jeffrey Dorsey and Leeanis Urbina will recount three stories: that of Peter Rich, who was born enslaved in 1700s Lancaster and went on to become one of Worcester's first Black property owners, and those of two immigrants from Haiti and Liberia who have made it their mission to support their Worcester neighbors since arriving in the city.
'The program is powerful, it's riveting and it's really motivating, so it's a pleasure and an honor to get into this bigger production here,' said Unity Radio 97.9 FM founder and Courage to Dream associate producer Ernest Floyd. 'I hope people appreciate it, because a lot of work goes into it, and right now, more than ever, you need something like this to get people's minds on this.'
Musical performers will include King's Kids, Shea, 5th Blend, Ropi Jr., the Jasper dance team, Sidelca and pre-K-12 Seventh-day Adventist school South Lancaster Academy's touring choir.
South Lancaster Academy will also be represented during the concert's theatrical portions, as young actor Leeanis Urbina is a student there.
Doors will open at 4:15 p.m. for a preshow visual arts exhibition and a market featuring Black artists and food vendors alongside local community organizations, which will remain open until 9 p.m. Performances begin at 6 p.m.
'We've just got to share this with everyone'
'Courage to Dream' will be Kingdom Voice & Glory's first Black History Month Celebration to take place outside of Sidelca's home church, College Church in Lancaster. Sidelca said when Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King, whose daughter is a member of the King's Kids choir, introduced her to Mechanics Hall's staff, they hit it off immediately.
'We wanted to make (the concert) more accessible and public, without people thinking it's a church activity,' Sidelca said. 'So many people in the community saw the show and told us we had to take it on the road. We've just got to share this with everyone.'
Sidelca put together her first Black History Month Celebration in 2023 at College Church as a way to continue the town's tradition of Black History Month concerts.
For years, students at the now-closed Atlantic Union College, a Seventh-day Adventist college with a majority-Black student body, would gather every February to sing and honor those who survived American racism in all its various forms.
Sidelca, who had just left a 9-to-5 office job, was already planning to work on musical endeavors full time, and a new Black History Month concert at her home church seemed like a perfect project.
'I was just going to do a little concert with my kids' choir and put a group together, maybe ask a few other people to join in, and people started getting really excited,' Sidelca said. 'It evolved and evolved until it became this big production, and everyone started saying, 'This needs to be annual.''
'That spoke mountains'
The 2023 concert, titled 'Courage to Sing,' mixed performances from College Church's choirs with narration that tied together the stories of Black historical figures like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sidelca recalled one particular interaction with an audience member afterward that drove home the significance of that night's performance.
'After that show, one of the gentlemen who was there said he had been to so many Black history events and shows and that this was the best one he'd ever seen. He was super emotional about it. That spoke mountains,' Sidelca said. 'I grew up around immigrants. For a Black American who grew up here to say this was the best show he'd ever been to as a grown man, I was floored.'
For the 2024 Black History Month Celebration, titled 'Courage to Persevere,' Kingdom Voice & Music turned the focus to those making history at the moment, honoring several Black female educators in the Worcester area during a key moment in the concert.
A focus on Black immigrant history in the making
Shortly after that show, while planning ahead, Sidelca and her collaborators decided the 2025 Black History Month concert would include a segment honoring immigrants and their contributions to Central Massachusetts in pursuit of the fabled American dream, prompting this year's 'Courage to Dream' title.
'This year, we decided to stick with the here and now. Who is making history now? We decided to focus on immigration a year ago, not knowing how big a deal it was going to be at this time this year,' Sidelca said.
The concert comes amid a right-wing political backlash against immigrants, particularly those who entered the United States without documentation.
On Jan. 20, hours after Republican President Donald Trump was inaugurated, his administration overturned previous government policies that prevented the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies from conducting raids in public schools and churches.
In response, on Jan. 21, Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Rachel Monárrez sent a letter to parents of enrolled students, stating that school staff and administrators had 'received detailed guidance on protecting students' rights' and that in the event of raids at Worcester schools, the district would not 'coordinate' with ICE.
'You see their faces lit up'
Sidelca, Floyd and associate producer Samarie Mojica all said one particularly important goal of the annual Black History Month Celebration was to provide children with an opportunity to perform onstage and learn from previous generations.
Floyd said for him, the events reminded him of the National Center for Afro-American Artists' annual Black Nativity performances, which he participated in while growing up in Roxbury.
'This show brings back memories of my early childhood and performing in those shows, talking about culture, learning your history, learning who has come before you,' Floyd said. 'It continues that experience.'
Mojica said she hoped 'to make a difference, to leave our footprint, and to pave the way and open doors for others to also be a part of this, so it can someday be taken over by the kids and young people participating.'
'For (the King's Kids choir) to be able to grow up and say they were part of the Black History Month Celebration every year at Mechanics Hall, you see their faces lit up with excitement to be singing on that stage,' Sidelca said. 'It warms my heart to be able to be that person for them, because I remember the people who were that for me when I was growing up.'
The Courage to Dream Black History Month Celebration will take place 6 p.m. Feb. 8 at Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester. Doors will open at 4:15 p.m. for a preshow arts exhibition and market, which will run until 9 p.m. General admission tickets cost $35 per adult and $20 per child. VIP tickets, which include front-row table seating, light refreshments and a themed gift, cost $65 each or $360 for a six-person table. All tickets are available through mechanicshall.org.