Attending Performances (2-3 Points)-Anna Martin

    On September 12, 2026, on the campus of Spelman College, I had the privilege and opportunity to witness "Anne and Emmett."  The play was both eye opening and deeply moving. Interestingly, I had just applied to the Black and Jewish Leaders Program and was asked if I knew about the Black-Jewish Alliance. At the time, I did not. Additionally, I could not fathom how the stories of Anne Frank and Emmett Till could be brought together in one play. 

  The stage was divided in half, and it almost felt wrong when Anne or Emmett crossed onto the other side because they were stepping into another reality. Yet, as the play continued, I realized that the division was not meant to separate their stories, but to show how two different experiences could come from the same place. One statement that stayed with me was, “It wasn’t about religion or color, it was fear and hate.” Hearing that after watching Anne remember the freedom of her childhood and Emmett struggle to understand why he could not simply be himself made the statement feel much heavier. They were children living different lives, but both were forced to experience what happens when fear turns into hatred toward people simply because of who they are.

Another statement that stayed with me was that “to forget would be akin to killing them a second time.” I understood this as a reminder that remembering is not just knowing what happened, but recognizing in the recounting of their stories the people they were before their lives were defined by tragedy. Forgetting them means losing the humanity behind the history. I sincerely appreciated how "Anne and Emmett" allowed me to understand the Black-Jewish connection firsthand. -Anna Martin