By Candace Elmore

City Editor

He marched to the center of the platform, saluted the officer he was addressing, and from that moment Angus Augustus Burleigh had the attention of the entire audience. He eloquently told of beginning life as a free person, then being sold into slavery after his English sea captain father died. His voice resonating with passion, Angus Augustus Burleigh described in vivid and graphic detail aspects of the Civil War. Beginning his presentation as a Negro soldier making his report to "the Reverend", Burleigh swept his audience to a place and time filled with death and destruction: families and soldiers destroyed by the squalid conditions in a refugee camp. Tears welled in the eyes of Burleigh, as well as in the eyes of audience members as he recounted the tragedy one Negro soldier, Joe faced as his family was sent away from the camp with less than appropriate clothing, and no food or water. Hasan Davis, after the conclusion of the presentation by A.A. Burleigh on Wednesday evening, told how he learned about the life of Burleigh.

The wife and three older children survived.  The infant, cradled in his mother's arms as she desperately tried to keep him warm, died just as the family reached the camp.

The audience was treated to a glimpse of life after the war, of a man struggling to educate himself, and deal with the challenges of prejudice.

Heartland Chautauqua. . .

Outstanding performances continue to fascinate, challenge audiences

Hasan Davis, after the conclusion of the presentation by A.A. Burleigh on Wednesday evening, told how he learned about the life of Burleigh.

The message of A.A. Burleigh, taken from his letters to Berea College in the years after his graduation, is that God had special plans for A.A. Burleigh.  Through the teachings of Berea college founder John Fee, Burleigh was prepared to face a world much different than one he had grown up in.

The dramatic difference between A.A. Burleigh the soldier and A.A. Burleigh the student was most evident in the eyes and in the voice.  At the transition, Burleigh whipped off the hat of the soldier, and revealed that he was about to graduate from Berea College.  The audience learned that Burleigh was actually reminiscing about those years in the war, and the whole atmosphere under the tent seemed to soften.  The tension eased from Burleigh, as well as from the audience.  It was almost as if a collective sigh was exhaled, as the audience quickly realized the change, and warmed to the maturity of the character.

As had happened in the previous evening, at the conclusion of the presentation, a time of questioning was made available to allow interaction between the audience and the character.  It took a couple of questions before the audience caught on that they were questioning Mr. Burleigh, but soon there were questions from all areas of the tent, covering his perspective of the war, as well as his life at Berea college.

Once Mr. Burleigh stepped aside, and the scholar actor Hasan Davis assumed the stage, the audience was once again in for a delightful surprise.

Through inside information, one questioner asked Mr. Davis to tell about his family.  He revealed the very recent birth of his son, barely two weeks before.  He also went on to briefly tell about his life in Atlanta, and the struggle he faced as a young man dealing with gangs.  He very eloquently told the audience the tragedy he has dealt with, including burying five cousins, and it seemed t enhance the performance we had just witnessed about A.A. Burleigh.  The parallel between two young men, over 125 years apart, as they met and overcame the opposition to their success.