“I’m old enough to remember Jim Crow. It may have been waning but it had a heartbeat. So during Obama it was hard to see it coming back.” A 2019 descendant from slavery begins and ends the journey through The Black History Museum… According to the United States of America. This immersive and interactive piece honors “the lives of ancestors stolen from Africa” on the 400th anniversary of American slavery.
Conceived and directed by Zoey Martinson from Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative, this museum tour is an expansive review of and commentary on black history through the use of powerful words, expressive dance, biting satire and historical objects. Visitors will tour through rooms and hallways of HERE’s entire downtown space. What makes this material even more compelling and fresh are the questions it directly and indirectly asks. None more powerful than “what would you say when you found out you were not human?”
After a farcical reenactment of some of the Founding Fathers codifying white privilege into the constitution, the historical tour commences. A hallway with portholes leads the viewer into a wooden pen. The joy of freedom is celebrated through dance and video (choreography by Francesca Harper). The horrors of captivity then flood the screens and change the dancers forever. The Founding Fathers are observant and silent. This beginning is powerful, uncomfortable and very effective.
A recording is played as the audience gathers in the lobby before the performance begins. “What is black?” is the question asked to multiple individuals. The replies are thoughtful and personal observations. Combining a broad outline of black history with insightful details enriches the storytelling from history lesson to emotional interpersonal journey. Everyone in the room regardless of race faces this truth in their own way. The piece can seem angry, exhausting, goofy, heartbreaking, heartwarming and cleverly stylized. Ambitious and a little unfocused at times, there is a ton of intellectual stimulation to absorb.
The surprises continue as you walk through this museum. People were visibly straining through two hours of standing. That discomfort is surely intentional. I believe the middle section where there is time to wander through some exhibits should probably be shortened. Breathable air in the basement space was less than desirable.
The charms contained in this section, however, enlighten and enrage. A shrine to Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader who was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. Written communication between people such as a father’s 1914 letter to his daughter. The recurring themes of individuality and connectivity to ancestral bonds is harshly projected against the overt racism of the questionably believable American Dream.
A poster from a Darryl Zanuck film Pinky! caught my attention. The tagline was “…She passed for white!” The second most popular movie of 1949, it was nominated for three acting Oscars including one for Ethel Waters. Marshall, a city in Texas, banned the film. The depiction of a white man retaining his love for a woman after he knew she was Negro was too much to bear. In a segregated theater where blacks watched movies from the balcony, the owner showed the film and was fined. Joseph Burstyn, Inc. vs. Wilson became the landmark free speech case whereby the Supreme Court gave movies first amendment protection.
Finding these gems of history (and researching their import afterwards) adds a museum-like authenticity to the performed scenes of dark humor and guttural outrage. I jotted down a note when I saw sheet music for a Bert Williams’ song entitled, “The Phrenologist’s Coon,” written in 1901. Here’s a sample lyric: “Now by us scientists ’tis often said/If a coon has an egg-shaped head/Means chickens he will steal.” Another well chosen artifact to help illuminate the countless and deliberate debasements of a race of people in a country whose formation is a legacy of genocide.
The Black History Museum, like many works of art, requires its audience to put some of themselves into the piece. This production is meant to be experienced. In my head, I heard my relatives. When a black woman would be performing on television when I was a child, they sometimes referred to her singing as “coon shouting.” That memory came flooding back. Like all worthwhile pursuits, it takes effort to make up one’s own mind between right and wrong when indoctrinated with the often misguided teachings of parents, governments and religious organizations.
Near the end of this play, there is a short section which asks the question, “Did You Know?” Significant and hardly known accomplishments of black citizens throughout American history are recounted. The point being made is critical and on target. How much black history is being taught in schools and in history books told through the lens of the white perspective?
The problems continue today. The permanent prison class which has been created “to legalize slavery” grows and grows with the overt support of both Republican and Democratic Presidents since the Civil Rights Act. Ms. Martinson, along with her co-writers Kareem M. Lucas, Jonathan Braylock and Robert King, can hit hard and it stings.
So many people were horrified by the confederate marches in Charlottesville. The movement has definitely been reignited with the election of Donald Trump. The Supreme Court is rolling back voting rights. Dark skinned immigrants are the current target but who knows who’s next on the list of the righteous. Imagine being a child born here on a family tree containing centuries of slavery. Imagine her seeing white men carrying flags and torches which can only mean a desire to return to that period.
The Black History Museum makes you listen to a black perspective. The scope is overwhelming and intimate at the same time. If you plan to attend this slightly uneven and ultimately rewarding piece of theater, wear very comfortable shoes. Dress with the knowledge that the rooms can be very warm (coat check is provided). So many thoughts went through my head during and afterward. That’s the sign of a successful trip to a museum.
The Black History Museum is presented by HERE and Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative through November 24, 2019.