DelawareScene: The Artistry and Activism of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper @ Schwartz Center for the Arts

The Artistry and Activism of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was one of the first Black women to see her anti-slavery written works published in the United States. The dramatic choreography of The Artistry and Activism of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper brings to life her poetry, novels, lectures, and enduring legacy in a dance-theatre program that highlights the challenges of her lifetime that are still as relevant today.

In this production, the role of Frances Harper is performed by actress Sharia Benn, who has performed a one-woman show about Frances Harper for the last 15 years; while dances are performed by University of Delaware Alumni, community and professional dancers of the Sharing Our Legacy Dance Theatre.

The production includes:

• Harper’s poems “Blessed Hope,” “Slave Mother,” and “Sketches of a Southern Life”; her novel, Iola Leroy; a short story, ”The Two Offers”; and a lecture, ”We are All Bound Up Together”;

• original poems by Glenis Redmond;

• original music by Ralph Russell, David Horton and Vianne Reay; and

• “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” by Arreon Harley-Emerson and performed by The Delaware State University Choir, Directed by Christy Taylor

With this production, held in time for the 200th Anniversary of Harper’s free birth on September 24, 2025, in Baltimore, our goal is to bring Harper’s legacy to life for a new generation—reclaiming history, honoring resilience, and celebrating artistic activism.

After the performance, the artists and scholars will speak for 20 minutes with interested audience members.