Top Left: "Beyonce" welcomes guests to SETLC's 4th Annual Blacks in Wax program.

Top Right: "Lift Every Voice...and Stand" saluted dozens of African American artists and entertainers--from Amiri Baraka to Oprah Winfrey.

Bottom Right: Nefertiti, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman were among the many historic figures featured in SETLC's Blacks in Wax Museum's "Hall of Black Women".

Lift Every Voice...and Stand:
Celebrating African American Artists

With words, song, music and dance, youths from the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center celebrated the accomplishments and contributions of African American artists during the SETLC's 4th Annual Blacks in Wax -- a living history program modeled after the National Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore.

Dozens of scholars appeared in "Lift Every Voice...and Stand"—an original stage production showcasing African American artists that have used their talents and celebrity to take a stand for justice or further a cause. Featured artists included poets, authors, recording artists and entrepreneurs, actors and dancers, and spanned decades including Langston Hughes, Sonia Sanchez, Dr. Maya Angelou, Russell Simmons, Michael Jackson and Judith Jamison.

The event also featured “statues” that came to life at the press of a button. Scholars lined SETLC’s corridors, creating a museum of African American history. Guests moved through the museum halls – including those dedicated to Black women, Freedom Fighters, political figures, athletes, scientists and others. As they did so, they learned about the achievements and contributions of iconic figures ranging from Nefertiti to Condoleeza Rice, and from Thurgood Marshall to President Barack Obama.