{"id":1967,"date":"2026-07-03T04:19:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T04:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967"},"modified":"2026-07-03T04:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T04:19:25","slug":"racist-backlash-roiled-these-high-schoolers-production-of-1776-it-strengthened-their-resolve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967","title":{"rendered":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#8217; production of &#8216;1776.&#8217; It strengthened their resolve."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Seventy-five Philadelphia students thought the stakes were high when they debuted \u20181776: the Musical\u2032 in front of a crowd that included former President Joe Biden, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker last week.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1965\">East Whiteland directs data center developer to stop work on Superfund site<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Then came the hate \u2014 racist, bigoted comments on social media posts about the production, which was dreamed up by Rendell, who wanted students to learn about the \u201csacrifices and compromises\u201d that went into building the nation as it celebrates its 250th birthday.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers as they debate forging a new nation and ultimately adopt the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The comments, which have since been deleted, rattled some of the young actors\u2019 families enough that over the weekend, one of the leads withdrew from the production over fears for his safety. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The hatred was a low point \u2014 \u201ccompletely dehumanizing,\u201d said Wyatt Wynne, 17, who plays John Hancock.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But it has galvanized the remaining students: actors, technicians, and musicians from public, private, and charter schools around the city.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Growing up in North Philadelphia, Dhonte Hawkins-Durante, 16, said he was extra conscious of the importance of positive Black male role models. He was thrilled that a fellow Black actor was one of the play\u2019s John Adams. (1776 is double cast, with two actors sharing most roles.)<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Losing a Black lead \u2014 especially because he was driven out by hate \u2014 was crushing, said Hawkins-Durante.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cBut instead of losing hope, I turned it into this motivation,\u201d said Hawkins-Durante, a student at Mastery Charter-Lenfest. \u201cIf they\u2019re not hating, we\u2019re not doing anything right. It gave me more weight to carry, but the best weight.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Luciana Jean-Louis, 14, who plays Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, said the social media hate \u201cbroke my heart\u201d and felt personal, she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But it turned into a \u201cway to empower myself, and a moment where I felt very proud of where we all come from.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Officials with Celebrating 1776!, the organization producing the play at Philadelphia\u2019s High School for Creative and Performing Arts and at other sites throughout the city through Aug. 15, condemned the posts in a statement.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cOur production makes a deliberate and proud choice to present a diverse cast telling one of America\u2019s most defining chapters,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe founding of this nation is rooted in human struggle, idealism, and ambition, and it deserves to be told by the full breadth of human talent. Our cast does exactly that, with exceptional skill and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1963\">The last legal obstacle for the Trump administration\u2019s own President\u2019s House panels has been removed<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>\u2018You constantly have to prove yourself\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Suhaila Madison\u2018s first reaction to the hateful comments was fury, she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt really fried me,\u201d said Madison, 15, who\u2019s homeschooled. Madison is relatively new to the stage, and has fallen in love with the process, and with working with a group of students from different parts of the city, different backgrounds, different races. The blowback first felt like it was diminishing the story and the young people working hard to tell it.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Then she gathered with her castmates and felt a new sense of purpose.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Brooklyn Weaver, 17, a CAPA student, felt like she had a lot on her shoulders playing Thomas Jefferson. As a person of color \u201cyou constantly have to prove yourself to these different people who might not support you being at this higher level,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Seeing racist comments on social media isn\u2019t especially shocking, Weaver said, but it hit differently when it targeted her castmates.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt gave me a different passion for the show,\u201d said Weaver.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>That effect felt universal, she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><svg><g><g><g><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cSome people weren\u2019t taking it as seriously before, but they are definitely taking it very seriously now,\u201d Weaver said. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>And the show \u2014 which chronicles a fractious, imperfect but ultimately history-making Continental Congress wrestling with questions of liberty and freedom \u2014 also takes on a different meaning, Weaver said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is what America\u2019s supposed to be: everyone in this land coming together to retell these stories of our forefathers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Shepherding a cast and crew of 75 youth, Phillip Brown, executive producer of Celebrating 1776!, was prepared for a lot of contingencies.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But the social media vitriol, and having to replace a principal actor in less than a day, wasn\u2019t on the list of things he was prepared for, Brown said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>(Student Walddys Fernandez, who had played a more minor part, stepped up to take the John Adams role on very short notice, blowing the producing staff and cast away with his preparation and verve.)<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But helping the students process and heal what happened has been humbling and powerful, said Brown.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt created a wonderful kind of opportunity to really teach the students the power of art, theater, and how to use their voice,\u201d said Brown. \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing something this powerful and provocative, people are going to have strong opinions. It was almost like this was the ire and the fuel that everyone needed to really dig in \u2014 they\u2019re taking the anger that they feel about this situation, and they\u2019re using it to strengthen their voice, not to soften it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><i>1776: The Musical runs Wednesdays through Sundays through Aug. 15 at CAPA, <\/i>901 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia<i>. Performances are free through Sunday; <\/i><i>tickets start at $11, with children\u2019s admission free with a paid adult<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1961\">Connolly Dermatology, a once fast-growing practice, faces N.J. lawsuit over unpaid wages<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#039; production of &#039;1776.&#039; It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#039; production of &#039;1776.&#039; It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Corporate Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\"},\"headline\":\"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#8217; production of &#8216;1776.&#8217; It strengthened their resolve.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967\"},\"wordCount\":951,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967\",\"name\":\"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers' production of '1776.' It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif\",\"width\":760,\"height\":507},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?p=1967#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#8217; production of &#8216;1776.&#8217; It strengthened their resolve.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Corporate Movers USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/corporate-movers-usa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers' production of '1776.' It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers' production of '1776.' It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA","og_description":"Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers.","og_url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967","og_site_name":"Corporate Movers USA","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626"},"headline":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#8217; production of &#8216;1776.&#8217; It strengthened their resolve.","datePublished":"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967"},"wordCount":951,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967","name":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers' production of '1776.' It strengthened their resolve. - Corporate Movers USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-03T04:19:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d47222ea38d0c8375091a2cc381a51b1.avif","width":760,"height":507},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1967#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Racist backlash roiled these high schoolers&#8217; production of &#8216;1776.&#8217; It strengthened their resolve."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/","name":"Corporate Movers USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e17225d0157cf1fa5c6e5e795cc26626","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}