“It was you, yet it wasn’t you” are the words
Kitty Wilson Evans’ ninety something year old mother whispers after seeing her
daughter’s performance of her chosen yet questionable occupation. She has just
witnessed her daughter wow a crowd, bring them to tears, and make some awkwardly
ashamed. Her daughter is the renowned Kitty Wilson Evans. She is also
affectionately and commonly known as “Ms. Kitty”. There are many words to
describe Kitty Wilson Evans but there is one word that is always used. Slave. For the last two decades, Ms. Kitty has chosen
to serve as a living history model for children and adults by traveling the
country performing first person reenactments as Kessie the slave.
Kessie’s story begins as a young girl who is forced
into slavery like so many other Africans during the late 1600s and 1700
timeframe. She has been separated from her family. Kessie becomes a strong
woman who has been bought and sold into the south. She is ultimately sold into
the Carolinas. Ms. Kitty weaves us in and out of the life of Kessie the slave
masterfully and skillfully as she uses her body, voice, and songs to convey the
tragedies and triumphs Kessie encounters. She shows us the inside life of the slave.
She takes us with her as she travels to Historic Sites such as Andrew Jackson
State Park, Living History Park and Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. It is at
these locations that she, along with the help of other historians, restages history
and shows us the typical and real everyday life of the slave. Her message is profoundly
clear. There is an untold story about slave life.
Visitors and educators travel far and wide to see
the charismatic Ms. Kitty perform. They speak about how seeing her become
Kessie helps them to see up close and personal the challenges of slave life.
They also willingly bring their kids to these events that feature Ms. Kitty
because they know that she can delicately yet soundly explain the who, what,
when, and why about history and that time period. Kitty Wilson Evans is a
degreed educator and much respected historian who constantly does research for
her craft. The visitors trust Wilson Evans to educate their children because
they know that this part of history is often overlooked in today’s school
system. She shares with the children interesting and often overlooked facts
about African American history. She thoroughly details the contribution of
slaves to the American way of life. When asked why she chooses to work as a
slave in modern day 21st century, she excitedly tells the listeners
that she “lives to tell the story”. Her mission is to keep telling the story of
the slaves because without them none of us would have the life that we know
today. She vows to continue to tell the story—the untold story of the slave.
