Overview: The Civil Rights Institute Inland Southern California (CRIISC) held a free event, “Brick by Brick: Black Innovators Who Built the I.E.,” to honor Black trailblazers of the Inland Southern California through spoken word and song. Empower You Edutainment, founded by Sharron Lewis-Campbell and Maudie Wilson, partnered with CRIISC to empower Black youth and provide positive messages of hope for all age groups. The event featured musical acts, monologues, and a grand finale with singing and dancing to “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness.
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The Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California (CRIISC) held a “Brick by Brick: Black Innovators Who Built the I.E.” event at the Bank of America Diversity Center in Riverside on Feb. 21. This free event, in partnership with Empower You Edutainment, welcomed the community to be entertained and educated by honoring Black trailblazers of the IE through spoken word and song.
Empower You Edutainment uplifts Black youth by combining theater, song, dance, and storytelling in order to amplify the voices of those often unheard. Empower You Edutainment was founded by Sharron Lewis-Campbell and Maudie Wilson after their retirement. Lewis-Campbell and Wilson are friends, educators and creatives who wish to break down economic and social barriers by providing positive messages of hope for all age groups.
“‘Brick by Brick’ is acknowledging the contributions from the past, but also leaning into what can bring forward to inspire the future. And we really want to emphasize that Black history is everyone’s history, and that’s the work that we’re doing. We’re so grateful to be in partnership with edu entertainment around this work,” said Executive Director of the Civil Rights Institute Sabrina Gonzalez.
The performance began with the Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, followed by a performance from Empower You Edutainment’s youth workshop members of Our Voices.
The musical line up included songs like “Wade in the Water,” “Rise up” by Andra Day, and “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead, sung by Lewis-Campbell, Wilson and their colleagues. In between the musical acts, “I am” monologues were shared about Biddy Mason, Israel Beal, Alice Rowan Johnson, Dorothy Ella Inghram, and Lucy “Granny” Vaughn.
Bridget “Biddy” Mason was born into enslavement in 1818. The household she was enslaved by resettled in San Bernardino in 1851. California was admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state, so Mason fought for her freedom in court, and was confirmed free in 1856. Once free, Mason settled in Los Angeles with her children and worked as a nurse and midwife. She eventually emerged as an entrepreneur, purchased properties and became a wealthy woman and philanthropist.
Israel Beal was one of the early pioneers in developing the Redlands district as the first emancipated slave to settle in the area. Many years after his passing, Beal eventually had a park dedicated to him in Redlands, now known as Israel Beal Park.
Alice Rowan Johnson broke racial barriers in education and taught at a school in Riverside, paving the way for future Black educators in the IE.
Dorothy Ella Inghram, was the first African American teacher in San Bernardino County in 1941. She later became a teaching principal and then was promoted to district superintendent of Mill School District in 1953 .
“I know a lot of people that knew [Inghram] said she was very kind, but also very focused. And she was a type of person, if a kid needed something, she made sure that they got it. She was a community person that knew how to pull the other people together,” Lewis-Campbell said.
“I think it’s wonderful that we’re able to do this celebration and celebrate the people who came before us. But people that have these wonderful buildings named after them, like Dorothy Inghram…it’s just a building without a story. So we have to tell the story,” Lewis-Campbell continued.
The final monologue about Lucy “Granny” Vaughn, was performed by Dr. Janet Hill who is a sociologist at Riverside Community College and University of California Riverside. Hill shared that Vaughn was born on March 10, 1818 into enslavement. When her enslaver faced financial challenges, he sold Vaughn for $1,600 at the age of 26 to another enslaver in Mississippi.
“Life was no better there. Life was hard. The cotton that I had to pick — it was like a knife. My hands, they were scabbed…and I was in so much pain, but I dare not say anything. And I always had my Bible, and so I could always remember that I’m not cattle. I’m a human, and that made me smile,” Hill said, reciting the monologue.
In 1911, Vaughn came to Riverside where she took care of her granddaughter. Vaughn overcame a lot of grief and struggle also losing her husband, daughter and the use of her hands, but was known for her faith and encouragement in others. Vaughn was said to have kept on smiling and gave people hope not to give up. She lived until she was 100 years old.
The event’s grand finale was the Edutainment group singing and dancing with the community to “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness.