When Neosho eighth grader Chelsey Henry goes into her role as a slave girl on the underground railroad, everyone in the room believes she really is a young lady trying to escape to Canada.
In her skit, Henry sings songs of the era. She also speaks about being a slave who is attempting to escape, and about "...not being owned by some white man."
She uses the word "freedom" frequently and praises everyone, "even the little unnamed people," who help slaves escape to Canada and, eventually, to "freedom." She talks about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass as if they were next door neighbors and friends of her family.
Henry did the research, wrote the script, and learned authentic songs that would have been sung by slaves on the run. She memorized parts, set up the choreography, and practiced her lines for more hours than she can imagine.
"I put in tons of hours," she said.
Her good work earned Henry second place in Missouri History Day competition this year, and a trip to Washington, D. C. to present her work at the National History Day competition.
Henry's work began a year ago—in September 2009. That's when she and the other students in Julie Hulley's gifted class at the Neosho Middle School began searching for topics or subjects for their History Day projects.
Henry discovered the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman in her research and began reading more and more about freedom-hungry slaves and their times. "I became fascinated with it," Henry recalls.
As part of the process, students have to write a research paper. However, Henry also wrote a skit which she used in the competition. Her research was so intensive and far reaching, that the bibliography was two pages long.
Henry also gathered props for the skit and made a display poster to illustrate what she had learned. During her presentation, she pretends to be in chains and recently sold. She washes and irons clothes. She talks and sings about freedom.
Henry gives much credit for her success to Father Moses Barry, who operates the Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum, in Ash Grove, Missouri.
"He really helped me set things up," Henry said.
Good actors and actresses can take on a role and make a viewer believe they are someone they are not. Chelsey Henry is a good actress who can almost convince her audience that she is a slave girl on the Underground Railroad, headed to Canada in search of "freedom."
