While famous for her notable TV role as the “Cosby Show” matriarch, Phylicia Rashad, has embarked onto another facet of performing arts. According to the Star Tribune, Rashad has taken on the role of director in the national staged reading for the New York-based play, “Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963.”

Today commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that took place in Birmingham, AL on September 15, 1963. The bombing, which claimed the lives of four African-American little girls, denoted a strong progression in the turn of events that pushed the envelop for the 1960s Civil Rights movement. The historic bombing served as a strong influential factor in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The reading for “Four Little Girls,” written by playwright Christina Ham, took place at the Kennedy Center Family Theater in Washington DC. The talented stage readers consisted of high school students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and college students from Howard University.

As a Howard University alumni, Rashad accepted the directorial role as an esteemed honor, stating that while the leadership is challenging, the gratuitous effort are quite rewarding. Rashad said her desire for the reading was to elaborate on the “sanctity of joy, human existence, and the value of life.” She went on to explain that as director her main focal point is maintaining the creative energy, keeping it in sync with the Ham’s’ vision, “while leaving room for people to add to the vision.”

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