By means of the sisters' unique and candid storytelling abilities, the audience feels as if we have visited the Delanys' girlhood home on the campus of St. Augustine's School in Raleigh, North Carolina - one of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's). The audience feels the sisters' frustration, anger, and pain as they come of age during the Jim Crow era, just as the audience mentally celebrates the sisters' successes as they overcome obstacles to rise to the top in their professions.

As HAVING OUR SAY unfolds, we witness the rise of middle income African Americans facing prejudice and discrimination in the South during and after slavery. We follow them at the turn of the last century as they move to Harlem just before the Roaring 20's. We follow them in Harlem during the Great Depression and through two world wars as they resolutely obtained their education in an environment hostile to women. This, then, is a story about the struggles of women in a male dominated society; of a family working together building a good life, as they serve others as good neighbors and set examples for the younger members of their family. Finally, it is a story about ordinary people who make extraordinary achievements, living as good citizens, actively engaged with life, voicing strong opinions about current events -- for more than 100 years.

We should all draw broadly from this play. This simple story about the struggles of two women typifies the essential human condition - of struggle and achievement, universal in its appeal and in the messages it sends.

Clearly, HAVING OUR SAY is our history. It celebrates women and men, African Americans, our country, and the indomitable human spirit.

It is a celebration of America's people.