Jackie Murray to present "Harriet Tubman: One Woman's Journey"

Jackie Murray, known as “The Voice for the New Sound of Soul,” will present a special performance of “Harriet Tubman: One Woman’s Journey,” Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Jimmy Naifeh Center at Tipton COunty (Baptist Memorial Health Care Academic Building Auditorium) and Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Dyersburg campus (First Citizens National Bank Auditorium inside the Campus Activities Building). This free event, sponsored by DSCC’s Office of Student Life, is held in conjunction with black history month.

Murray will present the story of Harriet Tubman as a living, breathing human being. The story, as told and sung entirely by Murray, is one of bravery and compassion. She will take the audience on a journey as her fellow run-away slaves head north. The audience will experience what slavery was like in the United States; the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and how the Abolition Movement reshaped our country. The performance will include several moving spirituals, including “Go Down Moses” and “City Called Heaven.”

Murray, a professional singer, songwriter and actress, has been on stage in several Memphis-area theaters and throughout the mid-South. The title track of her debut album with Memphis record label, Power Records, is called “Soul Dance,” which historically highlights how Memphis has been instrumental in spreading soul music around the world. She is a teaching artist with the Tennessee Arts Commission and serves on the Board of the Tennessee Theatre Association as a professional artist representative. Murray has directed several stage productions, including the 2016 staging of “The Juneteenth Story,” in which she won a Diversity on Stage Award for Best Director. She penned her one-woman show, “Harriet Tubman: One Woman’s Journey,” in 2012, and performed it numerous times in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee for audiences as she toured schools and universities. Murray currently uses her talents as a tour conductor, teaching travelers from around the world about the African American history of Memphis.

The community is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Stephen Thomas, director of student life (Dyersburg campus), at 731-286-3332 or sthomas@dscc.edu or Erin Smith, director of student life (Jimmy Naifeh Center), at 901-475-3166 or ecsmith@dscc.edu.

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