Students and faculty members
will get a unique and interactive
glimpse into African-American
history this weekend as it’s acted
out in front of them.
Dozens of N.C. State Students in
costume and makeup will make
famous African Americans come
to life in the annual Blacks in Wax
Live Museum. The event will take
place between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
the Witherspoon Student Center
February 22.
Saturday will be the seventh year
The African American Cultural
Center collaborates with student
volunteers to create the Blacks in Wax Live Museum. But this
is the first year that the museum
is being held by a student
committee, according to John
Miller IV, chair of the Blacks
in Wax committee and junior
in psychology.
Miller said the committee
was formed to take on the
Blacks in Wax Live Museum
as a student project. It is composed
of six AYA Ambassadors
from the AACC.
“It’s an amazing feeling to
be a part of this event,” said
Miller.
According to Miller, guests
will walk around all three
f loors of the Witherspoon
Student Center and enter different
rooms to meet a “wax
figure.” The figures will act
out their lives and roles in
history, and some portraying
entertainers will perform
a song.
Miller said students will
also be placed along the hall
of Witherspoon’s first floor
stretching from the Cinema
to the Washington-Sankofa
Room to engage the visitors
of the museum.
Guests will check into the
Washington-Sankofa Room
to get their materials and instructions
for the event. Then
they will be assigned to a student
tour guide or they can
choose to tour the museum
on their own, according to
Miller.
Miller said the African-
Americans being portrayed
include singers, inventors,
political leaders, athletes and
more. Students are going for
a close representation of their
character by using make-up
and wearing costumes, according
to Miller.
“As an African-American
student on N.C. State’s campus,
we do not see a lot of
things that ref lect our culture,”
said Kinesha Harris,
outreach chair on the committee
and sophomore in
human biology, said. “We
also don’t see a lot of things
that teach people about our
culture.”
Harris said the Blacks in
Wax Live Museum is a good
way to educate people outside
the African-American culture.
Harris said she is excited
that the event is student-run
and is ready to share her culture
with others.
“We get to showcase what
we can do and share it with
N.C. State and the community.”
Harris said.
Miller said, after guests
tour the museum, they have
the option to participate
in the reflection area of the
Washington-Sankofa room
which will rotate between
educat ional videos and
documentaries. Students
and faculty will also lead a
discussion of topics about
African-American history
and its impact.
“Learning about African-
American History and experiencing
it helps me to reflect
on myself as a student now,”
said Miller. “It helps me remember
where I came from.”
Miller hopes for students
and guests to see something
within a figure they can
identify with in themselves
and relate it to their lives.
The program is also an
opportunity for people to
learn something they didn’t
know about a character, according
to Miller.
“I hope it will inspire people
to do more research and
become greater in an area
that they choose.” Miller
said.
The committee recruited
participant by asking students
they knew to volunteer.
Miller said they are
expecting 40 participants.
The event is free and open
to the public, and according
to Miller, the committee
invited area schools and
others in the community.
Miller said he plans to go
for more guests this year.
He said the event has averaged
about 300 guests each
year.
With the event being under
a different structure,
Miller said the museum will
be more engaging.
Rooms of the museum
will represent a certain
theme pertaining to people’s
interest. Miller said
guests will be able to go
through rooms specifically
with characters related to
education and literature in
the African American Cultural
Center Library.
Characters related to
entertainment, fine arts,
sports and inventions will
be in room 201. Law, politics
and movement characters
will be in room 356.
