Thursday, April 24, 2025
To culminate the end of Black History Month, Universal Interactions, an Elmont-based nonprofit organization, explored with the concept of self-value and self-worth in the Black community through their annual celebratory performance on Feb. 23.
This year’s theme, “Worthy,” was conceptualized by the nonprofit’s directors Christian Marcello, Antonio Marcello and Fenol LaRock and an Elmont Cultural Center board director, Tamar Paioli Bailey.
Christian explained that “worthy” means that through God, anyone in the Black community can become the next Black leader.
“They wanted us to continue the fight,” Christian said of his predecessors, “and to keep adding to our history, growing, and knowing that we’re worthy to be the next leader and make a change in our community.”
The evening’s performance, which began at 6:30 p.m., included a choir performance of “Omemma,” followed by the performance of “Am I Worthy Enough?” which incorporated acting, dancing, praising and worshipping.
The play followed the story of Marissa Jones, played by Géniale Rebecca Medna, who questions whether or not she is worthy of becoming the next great Black leader.
Christian’s character, boyfriend Kevin Richards, leaves Marissa at the beginning of the play, telling her she’s not worthy enough to be anything. Marissa then must take care of their baby as a single mother, grappling with the societal pressure that she cannot succeed in becoming a leader.
But, Christian said, by the end of the play, Marissa realizes that she is worthy because God makes her so.
He felt the focus on today’s community, rather than just the achievements of their predecessors, was an important addition to their celebration this year.
“This time, it was like looking in a mirror,” he said of this year’s performance. “We’re basically portraying that we can start a change at any age and become the next Black leader.”
The intention of the performance was to shine light on the different aspects of the Black community, whether it be internal struggle or external influences, and the ways in which it navigates the sociopolitical backdrop of American culture.
Christian said the decision to have the main character be a woman allowed them to explore concepts such as single motherhood, abortion, the lack of male accountability, and the pain Black women feel in the face of social and systemic oppression.
However, Pastor Curtis Thompson of Church of the Harvest, which helped organize the event, said the show was not meant to solely portray the hardships faced by the community. Instead, he said, it was a celebration of successes in the Black community and the ways in which they’d overcome adversity.
“It’s not a focus on the negatives that have happened,” Thompson said. “It’s also highlighting the progress that we’ve made.”
The church provided performance space in Valley Stream Presbyterian Church, Thompson said, and it regularly participates in local community events.
Thompson, who had previously established a relationship with the nonprofit’s three founders through the Men of Elmont mentorship program, said they approached him about putting on the event together this year, which he gladly agreed to. He said the team had a vision of their theme and an idea for a sketch, which he supported.
“The concept of worthy,” Thompson said, “is that we try to allow every person who is part of the production, and everyone in the audience, to know that they are worthy of whatever it is that God has for them.”
He added that it is important to remember Black history in order to appreciate the present.
As for Christian, his goal is to continue the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
“It’s a time for us to look in the mirror and ask, ‘Where am I today? What am I doing to add to everybody’s greatness?’”
