WILLOUGHBY – Several performers and groups celebrated the musical and spiritual history of Black America during a Black History Musical put on Saturday, Feb. 14, by the Lake County NAACP at the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby.
Dr. David Moody, an associate professor of communication at Lake Erie College, acted as emcee for the evening, welcoming everyone in attendance an introducing the performers over the course of the event.
Symone Bibb, a Harvey High School senior, sang “I’m Here” from the musical production of “The Color Purple,” in a showstopper performance that had the audience on their feet and leading to several rounds of applause, only wrapping up as she took her seat.
The Rev. Chris Lee, Lake County NAACP president, performed a spoken-word poem he’d written, titled “Lost, Broken, Torn, Hurt,” followed by the Phelps Family Choral, who sang several old-time spirituals, beginning with “I Open My Mouth unto the Lord.”
Paul Robeson led The Paul Robeson Singers onto the stage for the main event, opening his remarks by pointing out that February 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Black History Week, established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926.
Originally a second-week-of-February celebration to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, Black History Week expanded into Black History Month 50 years ago, in 1976.
This year’s centennial theme highlights a century of progress and endurance, emphasizing that Black history is American history, according to Robeson.
Prior to beginning the performance, Robeson highlighted the role of W.E.B. DuBois, a 20th Century Black author and civil rights leader, as well as a cofounder of the NAACP, whose 1903 essay collection, “The Souls of Black Folk” is considered a seminal work of Black literature.
DuBois was notable in his time for blaming capitalism as the primary cause of racism in the U.S., joining the Communist Party in October 1961, at the age of 93, according to Robeson.
