Tribute to 'Little Rock 9' highlights first day

JacQuin Jones strikes a pose during a scene from "Walk with Me", during her performance at Liberty Theatre, as part of the grand opening celebration of the new Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (Mike Dunivan/Tribune).

The grand opening celebration of the new Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes continued Monday night.

Under the direction of LMC Fellow Stephanie Bishop, "Walk with Me" was performed at Liberty Theatre. Bishop is an award-winning theatre arts teacher at Prince George High School in eastern Virginia. In 2007, the center enlisted her help with its production of "Life in a Jar", the story of Irena Sendler. After seeing the impact it had on audiences, she felt inspired to use her abilities to create a dialogue about issues facing her students today. The play was performed by three of her students, JacQuin Jones, Travis Kennedy and Bryce Kephart.

Norm Conard, executive director of the center, began the evening with a short introduction about the subjects of the play, and those who were performing.

"Stephanie has put her heart and soul into this performance, along with her students." he said.

The play was about the high school days of Kendall Reinhardt. Reinhardt was a fellow student of the "Little Rock Nine", and one of very few who befriended them. Much of the play focused on Reinhardt, and "Little Rock Nine" student Elizabeth Eckford, who remembered two white students in particular, Kendall Reinhardt and Ann Williams Wedaman, who had stood strong against the opposition faced by black students.

Lowell Milken was on hand for the performance and called the experience, "moving and inspirational, with a great meaning."

After the play, when Reinhardt and Wedaman took to the stage for commentary, a visibly emotional Norm Conard found it hard to even speak.

"Just standing up here is...wow," he said.

Megan Felt, a former student of Conard, and program director for the center, called the performance, "Powerful, moving, and emotional. Most of all, I think it inspires all of us to step up and see how we can maybe make a difference in someone's life."

The grand opening celebration continues today, with a breakfast at 8:30 a.m. The grand opening celebration, with several speakers including founder Lowell Milken, and Governor Sam Brownback, beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by a ribbon cutting at 11:00 a.m. and a buffet lunch at noon.