Philadelphia Military Hero
Event Date
02/19/2024
Event Time6:00 pm;
Location
Union League of Philadelphia
140 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dress Code – Business Attire
Members and Non-Members – EVERYONE – Join the American Legion Post for a reception and program about Jacob C. White, with highlighted speaker and impressionist artist, Antoine Watts. Antoine Watts, is a first-person impressionist and living history reenactor of the first order. A resident of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, he studied vocal music at Drexel University for 2 years. Portraying multiple real-life historical personalities from this country’s collective past, Antoine helps audiences feel like they have transited a time tunnel. A talented musician, he sings as a Bass-Baritone, was a church choir director for 17 years, and is a classical music composer. When he dons 18th century garb, Antoine speaks with a French accent and takes on the persona of Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799); an Afro-French composer, violin virtuoso swordsman, and colonel during the French Revolution. When he portrays James Forten (1766-1842), Antoine brings to life an American Revolutionary naval veteran, sail maker, abolitionist, writer and owner of a Philadelphia sail loft. He portrays Forten in his forties during the War of 1812 and after. Antoine’s favorite and best-known character is Jacob Clement White Jr. (1836-1902). White was the first graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth (which grew into Cheney University), and he eventually became Philadelphia’s first African American school principal in 1866. Mr. Watts will be giving an overview in the third person of the life and achievements of Jacob C. White, his friendship with Octavius Catto, and some of his interactions with the “Black Elite” of Philadelphia.
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