Bed-Stuy Family Turns Stoop To Classroom With Black History Skits

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — If they were lucky, passersby walking down Decatur Street in February might have found themselves in the midst of an unlikely celebrity encounter — or rather, encounters.

There, on a stoop near Ralph Avenue, would be standing historical giants like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Emmett Till or Rosa Parks, telling their stories to whoever would listen.

The fact that the icons, standing amid a shrine to Black History Month, were actors would make little difference to those who stopped to take it in, homeowner Aaronda Flowers said.

"When you look at their faces it's like they're actually seeing who we are portraying — we made them [come] into our world," Flowers told Patch. "People were just overjoyed because they’ve never seen anything like it."

The pop-up skits, put on by the Flowers family, took over the stoop four times throughout Black History Month, each time capturing the attention of people who'd stop to watch from their windows, stoops, cars or the sidewalk, Flowers said.

They originated from performances the family used to hold at their event venue in East New York — which closed shortly before the coronavirus pandemic — aimed at honoring the Black icons and teaching those who might not know about their roles in history.

When the venue closed, Aaronda wasn't ready to give up on the tradition, so she started a new one.

"I said, 'I'll just try to do something in front of my house instead," she said.

To prepare for the performances, Flowers transformed her stoop with decorations celebrating Black history and culture, which she said became meaningful in their own way.

Even on days when the stairs weren't a stage, neighbors would stop to look at the stoop.

"One lady stood in front of my house for a good half an hour," Flowers said. "It's really inspirational to people. I guess they feel that our culture or our heritage have been lost."

Once the decorations were up, it was time to write the skits.

Each family member — including her mother, daughter and nephew — would choose a person, study their lives and Flowers would write five-minute scripts centered around the figures.

Then, despite freezing temperatures, they would head out to the stoop to perform. Flowers said the characters' stories, like her role as Harriet Tubman, provided all the motivation they needed.

"I could just imagine the struggle and obstacles she had to face when she was on the Underground Railroad — I had the same mind frame to say, 'Okay, there are these obstacles, but I have to push through,'" she said.

The skits have garnered such a positive reaction that Flowers said she hopes to put on even "bigger and better" performances for next Black History Month.

She also plans to bring other events from the East New York venue to her home, like book readings led by her son.

The stoop will likely be decorated surrounding different themes throughout the year, but for now, the Black History Month decorations will stay, she said.

"People walk by and say, 'Please don’t take it down,'" Flowers said. "One month can’t hold our history."