Mr. Rogers and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge of the Starship Enterprise were great friends.
Who knew?
LeVar Burton’s speech at the Rollins College Alfond Sports
Center on November 5th, 2015 was filled with such tales. He was a
guest of the Winter Park Institute, a local organization dedicated to providing
a forum to luminaries who can stimulate creative thinking among college
communities.
Of Star Trek and The Reading Rainbow fame, Burton spoke
about his friend Fred Rogers, his mother’s influence, his advocacy towards
literacy, and his first children’s book, The
Rhino Who Swallowed the Storm, which he would later read to the crowd.
In the sea of eager attendees wearing Star Trek and Reading Rainbow
shirts, was also Burton’s father, whom he emotionally said was attending one of
his speeches for the first time.
In fact, Burton was emotional a few different times during
his presentation. As he took the stage, he was visibly moved by the heartfelt
introduction given by Dr. John Sinclair, the John M. Tiedtke Professor of Music
at Rollins College. “As far as introductions go, that was pretty good!” Burton
said with tears in his eyes.
Burton is undoubtedly a very passionate man, with equally
passionate fans who filled the Alfond gym: people of all ages, excited to meet
one of their idols.
Barbara Chandler, a volunteer at the Hannibal Square
Heritage Center, was there because of Roots.
Eileen Davitt, on the other hand, was a huge Star Trek fan. Eileen’s nephew, Michael, now 17 years old, had
grown up watching The Reading Rainbow. Whatever the reason for them being there,
Burton certainly had a captive audience.
“My mother didn’t just read to me; she read in front of
me.” He started. “My mother recognized I
would inherit a world that would often times be hostile, simply because of the
color of my skin.” Burton said his mom
knew the best tool she could give him was an education. “Erma Jean had expectations on me, and when I
failed to meet those, I faced the thing I feared the most: disappointing her,”
he continued.
Even if Erma Jean’s expectations for her son were high, she
was probably not disappointed.
At the age of 13 Burton left home to attend Seminary, but,
as the audience obviously knew, he would end up on a completely different path.
“I left Seminary in 1974 to study theater. If I couldn’t be a man of the cloth,
I can make it as an actor!”
While at the University of Southern California, where he
studied Theater, Burton became familiar with Alex Haley’s works. Later, when ABC
was producing a TV series about Haley’s acclaimed book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Burton would come to fill
the role of Kunta Kinte.
“One day on set Alex came to me and said how important this
must be for me, and he said ‘I know you can’t afford it, but it’s important that
your mom be here.’ Alex sent for Erma Jean, so she could feel a part of this
process.”
Touched by Haley’s generosity, Burton said to the audience “Alex
is an amazingly humble human being…Gene on the other hand…”
He was speaking, of course, of Gene Roddenberry, the writer,
and creator of Star Trek. Burton quickly
explained, amongst laughter, that he simply meant Roddenberry was a visionary,
and was bold in his ideas!
“I watched a lot of Star
Trek. I saw myself in Lt. Uhura. Gene’s vision was one that said there is
an infinite variety of life,” said Burton. For a black child growing up in the
60s, during the height of the Civil Rights movement, to see himself represented
on TV was “hugely important!”
According to Pop Culture website Vulture, Star Trek is
still one of the most powerful fandoms in the world today, with an estimated 5.5
million Facebook followers, five spinoff TV series, and 11 feature films.
Even though he was enjoying tremendous success with Star Trek: The Next Generation in the 80s,
Burton still felt compelled to pursue the passion his mother Erma Jean had
instilled in him. Burton became the host and executive producer of the long-running
PBS television show The Reading Rainbow
in 1983.
With a philosophy of serving others, something he learned
from both his mother and his beloved friend Fred Rogers, Burton wanted to help
children find the same passion in reading he had.
“When I met
Fred Rogers I was so excited! I’m going to find out how this man is really
like, because nobody can be that nice. Of course, as you all know, Fred was
that nice. I learned the value of being your authentic self, especially around
children.” He recalls of meeting his friend.
Even with all of his involvement with reading, Burton had
never penned his own book. His debut, The
Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, came in 2014.
Burton got the idea for Rhino
after the events of the 2012 Colorado movie theater shooting. He was so shocked
by such a deliberate, senseless act, that he found himself thinking “What would
Fred say about this world?”
In fact, in the days
to follow he didn’t see anyone step up to address this new reality with the
children, as he firmly believed his friend would have done. “So I decided to
take a shot at it,” Burton said.
The Rhino Who
Swallowed the Storm was born out of a necessity to help children cope with
grief and the violent world around them.
The audience sat in awe of Burton, reading his touching story
and acting all the voices and emotions of his characters.
When he was done, the room erupted in vigorous applause.
Comments could be heard throughout the crowd: “He’s amazing,” “I loved it,”
among other accolades.
From seminary to acting; from Star Trek to The Reading
Rainbow, Burton showed not only his flexibility but his gentle spirit, and
dedication to that in which he believes. Captain Picard would have been proud.
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