Black theater artists take stand against discrimination
Broadway’s black theater artists are taking a stand against systemic discrimination, with a cue from the late Pittsburgh playwright, August Wilson, demanding an end to racist practices and celebrating African American contributions to the New York stage.
Some of the entertainment industry’s biggest names issued a statement over the weekend, “Dear White American Theater,” and used August Wilson’s 1996 “The Ground on Which I Stand” speech as a foundation to demand equity for all, on stage and behind the scenes. A change.org petition to join them gained 52,000 signatures in 24 hours.
That was followed by an initiative by Broadway Black, an organization founded in 2012 to “foster and inspire artistic diversity and excellence in theater.” The group announced the first Antonyo Awards to honor African American excellence in theater.
Antonyo Awards
In a virtual event Tuesday evening, nominees were announced by hosts Bryan Terrell Clark (“Hamilton,” “Empire”) and Carnegie Mellon University alum Kristolyn Lloyd (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Dear Evan Hansen”).
Before it began, Lloyd noted, “We want to make it clear, these are just for fun,” and a way to celebrate talent in a year when theater has gone dark due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
Winners will be decided by public voting at broadwayblack.com, through Friday, and the virtual awards ceremony will be held on June 19, also known as Juneteenth — the date of the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans. Presenters will include six-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald, Titus Burgess and Alex Newell.
‘Dear White American Theater’
In the spirit of justice for all, black theater artists including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Sandra Oh and award-winning writers Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage and Dominique Morisseau appeared on the proclamation “Dear White American Theater” and undersigned “The Ground We Stand On.”
Among the original signers were Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alumnus Blair Underwood (“A Soldier’s Play”) as well as CMU alums and Tony winners Leslie Odom Jr., Billy Porter and Patina Miller, fellow grads Griffin Matthews and Lloyd. Porter and Matthews grew up in Pittsburgh, as did Wilson.
Of his American Century Cycle of 10 plays, which brought Wilson two Pulitzer Prizes in drama, all but one are set in the Hill District. His award-winning plays chronicle the hardships and often unrealized aspirations of black Pittsburghers during the 20th century.
Wilson’s “The Ground on Which I Stand” speech, addressing issues of race, diversity and cultural identity in the American theater, was delivered in1996 at the Theatre Communications Group annual conference, and has been a touchstone for such discussions ever since.
“The term black or African American not only denotes race, it denotes condition, and carries with it the vestige of slavery and the social segregation and abuse of opportunity so vivid in our memory,” said Wilson, who died at age 60 in 2005. “That this abuse of opportunity and truncation of possibility is continuing and is so pervasive in our society in 1996 says much about who we are and much about the work that is necessary to alter our perceptions of each other and to effect meaningful prosperity for all.”
The 2020 declaration, “Dear White American Theater,” echoes Wilson’s words. Available at weseeyouat.com, the signees say, “We gathered as 300. Two of us called 10 of us, became 30 of us on a Zoom. Then 30 of us called 10 of our networks and this is what resonated.
“This is a response to the Civic Unrest in our country. We all recognize that while our country is full of protests against racial injustice, we must also protest it in our own field. We are demanding a more equitable and safe space for all BIPOC communities in our nation and inside of the American Theatre.”
The declaration is a crash course in what artists of color in the theater have been subjected to. It begins: “We come together as a community of Black, Indigenous and People of Color theatremakers, in the legacy of August Wilson’s ‘The Ground on Which I Stand,’ to let you know exactly the ground we stand on in the wake of our nation’s civic unrest.”
The proclamation lists grievances including “dangling opportunities like carrots” for emerging artists, as a way to “quiet us into obedience, at the expense of our art and integrity.”
Each accusation is punctuated with the phrase, “We see you.”
“We stand on this ground as BIPOC theatremakers, multigenerational, at varied stages in our careers, but fiercely in love with the Theatre. Too much to continue under its abuse.”
The proclamation concluded: “We will wrap the least privileged among us in protection, and fearlessly share our many truths about theatres, executive leaders, critics, casting directors, universities and training programs. You are all a part of the house of cards built on white fragility and supremacy. And this is a house that will not stand.
“This ends TODAY. We are about to introduce you … to yourself.”
It is signed, “The Ground We Stand On.”