Good Friday Welcome to our very first holiday edition of Prairie Fire, I'm Sarah Edwards.

Stay tuned in just a few minutes for an appearance by our very own Charles Dickens.

And later in our program, a special performance by the University of Illinois Black Chorus right here in our studio.

We begin in bull Valley, Illinois, home to Operation Wild Horse.

It's an organization that aims to create a therapeutic bond between military veterans and wild mustangs, we visited on a Monday night when they were hosting a special program for women's veterans.

There's so many organically similar things about people who've served in the military and wild horses, they were both basically owned by our government at one point in time, you know, when you sign up to go into the military, you don't have a choice of where you're sent in the country or out of the country, you don't get to decide your life for the time that you're in there.

Well, for our wild horses who are on Bureau of Land Management land, once they're rounded up, they also don't get a decision on where they're going to be sent in the country and what the rest of their life is going to be like.

Unfortunately, there's a little bit of back and forth with what's the right thing to do for wild mustangs, you know what the appropriate management level is for the herds out on the range and why and how they have to do round ups to keep them at an appropriate management level.

For us, it's making sure that once they come into our program that they are doing something that's amazing with their lives, that made them being rounded up worthwhile.

A lot of the time, we get veterans who come in here and they've been through something and they don't feel like anybody else in their life can relate to it.

I'm here to give the veterans and active duty military a place where they can come in and they can talk to other people who understand what they've been through.

It's my place to give them space to let that healing happen and I think it's such a unique opportunity to take two great pieces of our American history and put them together and just make a difference for both of them normally, the first time a veteran comes out it's just kind of a GET TO KNOW you type of session.

And very often the Mustangs will actually pick their person I think they are unique The Mustangs in the sense that they they have generations and generations of living together in a family unit and developing those bonds.

So I think in some way that's a little bit removed from domestic horses psyche, but it's still very fresh in the Mustangs mind so they look for that bond with you and when it happens you you feel it so when Veteran experience is so different from what a male veterans experience it is in the military.

Women Veterans need places to go and the support for their time and service as well.

When I joined the Air Force, I was 24, almost 25, I joined the military because I wanted to see the world.

My job in the Air Force was information technology.

I was right at the beginning of computers and things like that, I put in for special orders.

And I was lucky enough to get chosen to go to Belgium.

And I got assigned that the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe, also known as shape.

And there, I got to work in more of a security realm.

And I was the first female to be assigned to that office.

Our officer in charge was a Royal Air Force, British slept tenant.

And he basically said to me, we tried to get your order stopped.

We didn't want a female in this office, but the Americans sent you anyway.

As women were often just considered, you can't do the job, you're only a distraction, where you're, we're going to have to pull the weight for you, these guys will, there.

She's not out in the shop.

So that means she's not working.

If she's not physically working, she's not doing work, you give up and I got out when I probably wanted, I wanted to stay in but I recognized I wasn't going to go as far as I wanted to go, you probably lose a lot of people that way.

In the military.

As a female veteran, if I'm with a guy of some sort, whether it's my brother or my father or a significant other, it's always expected that they were the veteran, it's easy enough to just correct somebody.

And it seems like our society always feels really bad if they say that, but it would be nice if they just saw me.

We had a Saturday camp here that we invited all veterans to come out to, and one of our female veterans was like, you know, I'm not 100% comfortable coming out to that camp, because my experience was so different.

I told her, you know, what we were really lacking is, you know, women's women's groups for us to get together.

I mean, for me.

Unfortunately, a lot of the PTSD and experiences that I have came from, unfortunately, other vets male vets, and it's from our own brothers, you know, it's the guys we're supposed to trust.

So she's like, well, let's do it.

Let's make women's group.

I'm like, really, the patty, she doesn't hold back.

She's like, that's a needless, let's fill that hole.

If someone's coming in and having problems we might not ride, we might just talk to her and get her through whatever's going on.

We're here to support each other.

And that's a really, really great feeling.

When you get to be around other women and you start to tell your story.

There's a lot of validation that comes from that because then you're recognizing that there are other women, certainly other women in the military that have experienced the same things and you don't feel so much of an outcast I hope all the all the women feel the same as I do that is so grateful for having found this group.

I feel like I could trust them with anything honestly.

If I ever needed anything.

I feel like they would be there no questions asked.

It's filled a hole for me that is very special, and it's allowed me to continue my service.

You can take as much from Operation wild horses you want you can just come out here and just get away from your day if you're having a bad day.

Or you can you know you can learn how to actually ride Western dressage.

It's just become part of my my life and my soul.

Horses are part of me now and they always will be.

You can't have a bad day when you're hanging out with horses and burros.

Something about burrow, you want to laugh?

You want to smile, you know, hug a burro that will make your day Nerdist fun.

I light up thinking about them.

They're just they're hilarious.

I'm protective of this program.

Every one of these horses is it, they're my babies.

And I want to see the growth in them as well as the growth in the men and women that come through our gates.

When I first started writing bingo, it was a lot of not really knowing what his buttons were what to ask him or how to ask him to do things.

It's really my issue, understanding him and asking him in the correct way to do things.

So it's like we're partners dancing.

The first time I got here, you know, you're just kind of walking down the line looking at the horses.

And instantly, it was like, I looked at Jelly.

And he had like this response.

And it was like an instant pairing almost.

He's nuzzling me and he was like giving me hugs.

And he's a giant horse.

And it was like one of those moments where he sensed I needed something.

And he gave me a hug.

And I didn't ask for it, he just gave it to me.

This is an animal who saw me in a moment that I needed to be seen.

So that's the importance of being part of an organization like this, and interacting with animals because we don't talk to them, we just feel with them.

We all owe everything to the men and women in our military, and to be here every day, and to try and give 100% back to them.

It's the greatest gift.

The great author, Charles Dickens toward the east coast and the Midwest in 1842.

And then he wrote a book about it called American notes for general circulation, which was published later that same year.

Now suffice to say he really roasted the Midwest and Midwesterners in that book, but now he claims he has something we'll all like, just in time for the holidays.

Dear, yes, please, make it.

Now this book you've written?

What are you calling it a Christmas carol?

Could you read some bits of it?

Certainly.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

stave one, Molly's ghost.

Molly was dead to begin with.

There's no doubt whatever about that.

What a silly way to start a book.

Yes, but it gets better.

Scrooge's nephew comes in and says Merry Christmas, uncle.

God save you.

Basses Scrooge humbled.

Christmas a humbug uncle says smooches nephew.

You don't mean that?

I'm sure I do.

Said Scrooge.

Merry Christmas.

What right they've used to be merry.

What reason they've used to be merry.

You're poor enough.

Come then return the nephew.

Gail.

What right have you to be dismal?

What reason have you to be morose?

You're rich enough.

Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment said bar and bar again and followed it with humbug every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.

Well, this is rubbish depressing if you asked me.

Wait, it gets better.

When Scrooge gets home, his dead partner Molly visits him as a ghost and says you will be haunted by three spirits.

And then the first spirit come.

It was a strange figure.

Like a child.

I am the Ghost of Christmas Past long past inquires group know your past.

They passed through the wall and stored on an open country road.

With fields on either hand, the city had entirely vanished.

It was a clear, cold, wintry day with snow upon the ground.

Good heavens, said Scrooge.

I was bred in this place.

I was a boy here.

So he says seems from his childhood.

And then it reminds him of happier times and how he used to enjoy Christmas.

And then in comes the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Giant jolly fellow with a robe and a flaming torch and food spin around him.

And he talks to Scrooge about how Scrooge only values money.

And then he takes him to see.

Scrooge is a system Bob Cratchit and his family have in Christmas dinner.

They are very poor and they have a very scanty Christmas.

But they enjoy every bit of it together.

And Bob says, Merry Christmas took us all my ideas.

God bless us.

Which the family recode God bless us everyone said Tiny Tim the last of all.

You see Tiny Tim's a small boy and he's very sickly.

Spirit, said Scrooge.

Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.

I see a vacant seat, replied the ghost in the poor chimney corner and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved.

If the shadows remain on altered by the future, the child will die.

Oh, dear.

But this is when the third most frightening ghost appears.

The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached, it was shrouded in a deep black garment.

I'm in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, Scrooge.

Spirit answered not, but pointed downward.

This hand you're about to share me shadows are the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before Scrooge pursuit?

Is that so spirit, and it is so the spirit shows Scrooge that when he dies, no one is going to grieve for him.

And they will all remember him as an old curmudgeon and not care.

Then the Spirit takes screws to see his own grave.

Spirit, he cried, clutching at its rope.

Hear me?

I am not the man I was.

I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse.

Why?

Show me this.

If I am past all hope, assure me that I may change the shadows.

You show me by an altered life.

I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year.

They will live in the past, the present and the future.

The spirits of all three shall strive within me.

I will not shut out the lessons they teach.

Oh, tell me me sponger.

Whether writing on this stone.

Scrooge was better than his word.

He did it all, and infinitely more.

And two Tiny Tim who did not die.

He became a second father.

He became as good a friend as good a master and as good a man as in the whole world.

And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas.

Well, may that be truly said of us and all of us.

And so as Tiny Tim observed.

God bless us, everyone, darling, wonderful.

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.

One of Central Illinois greatest choral treasures is the University of Illinois black chorus.

The group was founded in 1968 and has thrived under the longtime direction of Dr. Ali wants Davis.

So when we were planning our first holiday edition of purifier, we thought immediately of the black chorus.

Thank you guys all for being here.

Dr. Davis, you have been in charge of this choir for how many years now?

It's been a long time hasn't it has been a long time, I would say over 40 years, probably around 41.

Wow.

And so tell me a bit about the membership of your choir and kind of the repertoire that you sing.

Certainly, students from across campus from all the colleges participate in the black chorus.

It's an academic offering, as well as a student leadership organization and a workshop.

We also have very wonderful members from the community who join us.

And the repertoire we sing includes the music of black America in all of its forms from r&b, soul, hip hop, even gospel spirituals, anthems and hymns.

Black chorus is not only a choral experience, it's kind of a peer to peer experience.

And you kind of create groups within within the chorus to make sure that everyone's doing well, socially and academically as well.

Tell me a little bit about that.

I'm delighted to tell you about that.

The black chorus is a community.

And we have as our mantra that I am you and you are me, and we are us.

And so intentionally we form groups and we have activities where we celebrate community and we celebrate unique contributions.

So we're have a peer to peer sort of mentorship program where the upperclassmen try to spend some time with the underclassmen.

And we have a leadership component where we have elected student officers and they are charged with having someone to shadow them to learn what they do.

And then we have a tremendous Volunteers who take care of like the wardrobe attire, the infrastructure.

So it's peer to peer learning, develop leadership development, and it's just a group that believes in community and they find a sense of unity and purpose by working together.

Excellent.

Tell me where we can see the black chorus in this community and beyond.

In our Urbana Champaign community, you can see us perform at Smith Recital Hall in Smith Memorial Hall on campus, the great hall of accredit Center for the Performing Arts and oftentimes we find ourselves doing community events as well.

If you really are missing us you can meet us on Wednesday evenings at the credit center in the choral rehearsal room, that's where we prepare our offerings so you can actually come to one of the rehearsals if you let me know in advance otherwise we would have a room full of of audience members right you're very popular in the community obviously so thank you so much for being here and and thank you choir Thank you for having us rejoicing swiftlyrecieving heaven's glory the night that Christ was born The night that Christ was born listen to the angel rejoicing receiving its glory that price was change you see the people coming from every pleadings for salvation that Christ was born.

Showering on the night that Christ was born oh my heart be made a new shouting through the darkness, crying holy holy the night that Christ was born rthe night that Christ was born was born the night that Christ was born and you see the light the break of dawn but God sent His glory read him shall Hans for me moving his love his holy son your wave his grace His favor has come to everyone if your voice is heaven rejoices behold the son has come king of kings, lord or lords, jesus Christ the first and last love his reign is glorious andbe found his name is glorious.