Musical portraying civil rights leader Septima Clark comes to Allendale

The fact that few know of Septima Clark and the role she played in the Civil Rights movement is part of why actress Zania Cummings decided to play her in "Septima", a new musical about the eponymous Civil Rights leader.

“It was a heavy lift especially because I wanted to do the story justice of a Black leader in Charleston, from Charleston,” said Cummings. “I wanted to give her story honor.”

On February 27, the Charleston-based PURE Theatre performed "Septima" — a new musical about Clark’s life — at the Carolina Theatre in Allendale. Called the “mother of the movement” by Martin Luther King Jr., Clark became a prominent Black leader in South Carolina. Born in Charleston in 1898 the daughter of a laundrywoman and former slave, Clark was an educator who played a key role in advancing voting rights for Black people in the South Carolina lowcountry.

In "Septima", director Sharon Graci wanted to relive Clark’s personal and spiritual convictions in addition to her life as an activist and educator.

“The most important thing is … [showing] she was incredibly gifted and talented and driven and brave and courageous and flawed in her own ways,” Graci said. “That's always the challenge as a director is trying to move your work into a place where you are expressing as full of a picture of a human being as you possibly can.”

The performance of "Septima" in Allendale was part of PURE Theatre’s performance tour in the lowcountry. After being approached by the Charleston chapter of the voting rights organization League of Women Voters about retelling Clark’s story, PURE Theatre began working on the script.

In her early life, Clark was an educator on John’s Island after being barred from teaching in Charleston. Thus began her lifelong dedication to increasing education for Black people in South Carolina; This ranged from grassroots organizing workshops to demanding more resources to white supremacist political leaders like Strom Thurmond. Clark’s workshops went on to inspire Rosa Parks shortly before Parks began the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“I love this show because we can re-educate about who she was and about how important she is,” said Keith Alston, who played Clark’s father among other ensemble roles. “She did a lot for teachers’ rights and voting rights, it wasn’t just civil rights. She was all encompassing.”

However, Clark's contributions are not among the mainstream historical consciousness of the Civil Rights Movement unlike other civil rights leaders. This is something, Graci and the cast said, they hope the play helps rectify.

“Even people who drive across the Septima Clark parkway [in Charleston] don’t know who she is,” cast member Josh Wilhoit said. “It’s a story that needs to be told, and that’s part of our mission.”

The play had a six-member cast: Cummings as Clark, Sonja Reed as Clark’s mother Victoria Poinsette, Alston as Clark's father, along with Wilhoit, Shiva Patel, and Michele Powe on ensemble. Due to the small cast size and large number of characters in Clark’s life, many of the actors played multiple roles.

“Septima was a real person, so we became storytellers for people who did not know anything about her,” said Reed. “So, we were responsible for getting that message across. There was learning for us as well.”

As the tour goes forward, Graci and the crew want to share the story of Clark in smaller communities outside of Charleston. The cast also said they would enjoy performing at the Carolina Theatre in Allendale again.

“One of the things that we are known for is telling stories of our community and we are deeply and proudly southern,” Graci said. “So, smaller communities that don't have as much opportunity to participate in the arts, we serve those communities as well.”

Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.