If you happened to be at the White House National Medal of Arts ceremony in 1995, the Screen Actor's Guild Awards in 2000, or the Emmy Awards in 2001, you might be familiar with writer, actor, activist, producer, director, and teacher Ossie Davis. If you don't know the story of American legend Ossie Davis and his dear partner, Ruby Dee, you might want to pick up a copy of their awe-inspiring autobiography, With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together. As is the case with the lives of many complex people in the public eye, there is simply too much information and history concerning Davis and Dee to fit into one article.

Ossie Davis. (Photo by Jessica Katz)

A highlight of Juilliard's celebration of Black History Month this year was Ossie Davis's visit to the Drama Division to speak with students on February 17. As I had arranged for the visit and was to serve as moderator of the discussion, I was one of the three drama students who personally got to escort Mr. Davis to the Drama Division and witness his eyes light up with pleasure as he examined the photos in the "Juilliard Drama Hall of Fame" (the photo gallery of past productions in the lobby of the Drama Theater on the fourth floor). After this unfolded the most inspiring two hours that I have experienced.

The questions began rolling even before we entered the Drama Theater for the formal part of the discussion. Mr. Davis sat cross-legged in a comfortable cushioned chair, and spoke about how writing was and still is his first love—something he discovered during his days at Howard University. He considers himself a writer before anything else, explaining that nearly everything he's done throughout his life has been to help him learn more about the written word. In fact, Mr. Davis pointed out, he wanted to write plays before he even saw one performed. His professors at Howard found this quite humorous, but nevertheless guided him in his further study of the written word.

At last we were ready to go into the Drama Theater, where students from Juilliard, Fordham, N.Y.U., and Columbia awaited Mr. Davis's arrival. His entrance was greeted by a roaring standing ovation and, after introducing a man who practically needed no introduction, we took our seats and I began in earnest with the questions I had prepared.

About his name, he explained: "I was named after my father's father, Raiford Chatman Davis. In the South, we tend to use initials. So when the clerk at the Clinch County (Georgia) courthouse asked Mama who I was, she said, 'R.C. Davis.' He thought she said 'Ossie Davis,' and wrote it down that way," he explained with a grandfatherly grin.

When asked about his relationship to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the 1963 march on Washington, part of what he said was: "What is not common knowledge is that Malcolm X was also there, pacing back and forth behind the scenes. It is easy to think of Malcolm and Martin as polar opposites—and in many ways, they were. But they understood each other's role in the struggle and, I think, had a healthy if distant respect for each other."

I also asked him what his thoughts were concerning the possibility of a black owned/operated Hollywood studio and Broadway theater. He made it sound as if—because of technology and the great changes in the way movies are made today—the Hollywood studio system may be slowly becoming obsolete in many respects. My peers and I grinned from within as he said that it is going to be up to some young person, in some basement, somewhere in the world, to figure out where the movie business is going next. He is confident that the Bill Gates of the entertainment industry will surface soon enough.

Before he could speak much further about his life in the theater, it was time to open the floor for questions from the audience. Then came a book signing, where questions continued to roll off the tongues of the obviously inspired group of participants. The scene was pure history-in-the-making, as we all moved to tunes from the Malcolm X film soundtrack.

After much conversation and hand-shaking, stories of the old South, Jeb, and Purlie Victorious on Broadway continued to enthrall us as we made our way back to Mr. Davis's car. We said thank you and goodbye, shook hands, and off he went into Broadway's Sunday traffic. As we stood there, watching the car fade into the distance, all of us knew we had experienced something only the privileged few have or ever will get to experience in this lifetime.

There are many reasons I invited Mr. Davis to Juilliard. Each year, it becomes an even greater institution, and each year the caliber of guests who pay a visit to this school reflect that greatness. That said, we haven't had many African-American and minority figures visit us here at Juilliard, particularly in the Drama Division. Being an African-American student myself, I feel this is a major issue—especially since Juilliard has accepted a record number of African-American and minority students into the current program.

I would like the young brothers and sisters who have joined the program to feel welcomed in every way possible. By beginning and ending our year with a production of Laurence Fishburne's play Riff Raff, we are off to a great start. I wish to keep a good thing in motion by initiating more events for African-American students to enjoy throughout their first year at Juilliard. Thanks to people like Ossie Davis, Joan Warren, Kathy Hood, Deborah McGee, and organizations such as MYAN (Juilliard's Multi-Cultural Young Artists Network), this is slowly becoming a reality.

When my classmates and I leave this place, the torch will be passed… time and time again. I am confident that one of my peers (probably even one of those who stood out in the Amsterdam Avenue cold on that glorious Sunday afternoon in February) will take this torch and run with it, inviting as much diversity into this place as he or she possibly can within a four-year time frame—realizing, as I have realized (in the ever-present words of Ossie Davis, from his book With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together), that they are to "Be not deceived, The Struggle is far from over, The best of being Black is yet to be, So said the Ones who Died to set you free."

Frank Harts is a fourth-year drama student.