Upcoming Gamut production pays homage to the demolished Old 8th Ward of Harrisburg during Black History Month

• Aniya Faulcon
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  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 John Bivins Photography

Voices of the Eighth Chronicles II: Stories from Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward promotional photo

Airdate: January 18, 2023

During Black History Month in February, Gamut Theatre Group and the Sankofa African American Theatre Company will present the Voices of the Eighth Chronicles II: Stories from Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward production. The play aims to pay homage to the Old 8th Ward of Harrisburg, where hundreds of primarily black homes, black-owned businesses and facilities were demolished, wiping out connections to a community that thrived during the 18th and 19th centuries.

To discuss the Voices of the Eighth Chronicles II: Stories from Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward and its importance for the community, Sharia Benn, director and playwright for the production, and Latreshia Lilly and Sydney Crutcher, actors within the piece, joined us on The Spark Wednesday.

Benn said, the demolition of the Old Eighth Ward caused displacement and disconnection for the Black community and is reminiscent to what happened during slavery when people were taken from their home.

“It’s just this cycle. So what happens is people lose touch. They don’t feel valued, they don’t feel worthy and the greatness of an entire community, of individuals, our history, it is lost and buried,” Benn said. “And so when we talk about the business losses, that is a loss of the ability to carry forth generational wealth. And then when I talk about the worth in the value of a person, when you don’t know that you are connected to people, that you have a lineage of greatness; that’s a loss you can’t put a dollar on.”

She also said, this production is timely, as it will take place during Black History Month but stories like these need to be told all the time.

For more information about the Voices of the Eighth Chronicles II: Stories from Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward production visit gamuttheatre.org/vote.