NIGGA,DIGRESS BY TY GREENWOOD
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Setting: an extraterrestrial ALL BLACK space(this does not mean futuristic necessarily), where only Black folks are allowed to vent their feelings about an issue(s) in hopes to ultimately come to an answer, solution, affirmation and or resolution to their problem(s)...OR all of the above. Time: NOW Characters: Black Man 1 Black Man 2 Black Woman 1 Black Woman 2
*Even though all of the characters in this play are Black, they should be different shades of Black to show that ALL Black is beautiful and does not come in just one shade. Colorism is a thing!
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Notes on style: This play is meant for a Black director only! Spoken word poetry is defined as, “A broad designation for poetry intended for performance. Though some spoken word poetry may also be published on the page, the genre has its roots in oral traditions and performance. Spoken word can encompass or contain elements of rap, hip-hop, storytelling, theater, and jazz, rock, blues, and folk music. Characterized by rhyme, repetition, improvisation, and word play, spoken word poems frequently refer to issues of social justice, politics, race, and community. Related to slam poetry, spoken word may draw on music, sound, dance, or other kinds of performance to connect with audiences.” The above mentioned must be applied to the delivery of this play. The dance sequences must be choreographed and not freestyled. Bring in a choreographer if needed. The play gives a look into an all Black space, knowing that audience members of all backgrounds will attend, this means that certain audience members may be uncomfortable with this. This is intentional. Remind them of where the exits are and that they can leave at anytime. In Part V, white audience members will be asked to leave the performance space to allow for the Black audience members and performers to have the final moments to themselves. Other folks of color may stay in the performance space and participate in the call & response chants and affirmations if they want or they can also leave if they don’t feel comfortable. If a white person in the audience refuses to leave say: “We receive your decision to not respect our Black space. We are not going to force you to do anything. But, please know this next part is for Black people and people of color only and you will not be included.” 2
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After the above or some other variation of the above is said, continue on with the show. Do not give them the power to overtake the room! This is your space! On ward! (And to be clear this does not mean being confrontational. Don’t waste time going back and forth.)
“If there are no white people in the audience then perform the show as written. There will be no need to make an announcement for the white people to leave, but rather an announcement to the Black/POC audience that “this next part will be a series of chants,and call and response. Repeat and continue them as long as you want. Engage as much as you can with the audience. Specifically, the Black people. Make some Black Magic up in there. You will not be silenced. Take your time with these to really get the space fired up. This is for all of the Black victims who were senselessly killed.This is for our ancestors who came before us and endured so we wouldn't have to.”
“If there is an all white audience. STILL ask them to leave as instructed at the beginning of part V. Have the final moments of the play with just the four performers. Perform the chants and call and responses together.”
Feel free to change the language if needed to make it feel more natural for you as a performer/actor. This is a piece about venting, healing, affirming, loving and seeing each other. You all are each other's brother and sister.
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Black Man 1 talks to the others. Black Man 1 He waits for the chance to be seen, to be heard. Everybody talks, nobody listens. No one ever fucking listens. “Do they even hear me?” “Do they even see me?” Before he had talked his talk, walked his walk, sang his song... they judged him. Left him alone to perish. Everybody passed judgment on him. But judge not, that ye be not judged. If you are truly your brother’s keeper, What kind of keeping do you do? Who’s watching who? Who’s keeping who?
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Now, he lays in a casket, dark and cold. Blank and bare. And we don't know his story. We won’t ever know his story. Because they judged him before they saw his value. And now he’s gone. And his story is not his own. But instead a story that they conjured up from the evil within them, that kills the little Black boy who dreams of jus being... jus being. He was young, filled with so much life and joy. His future was so bright and unwritten. He had dreams yet to be conquered. Coco brown skin, the whitest smile when he showed his teeth. A body built for war, But it was taken from him too soon, his life as he knew it was never his... No chains in sight, but he was shackled down by the world. 5
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A A A A
world world world world
that that that that
doesn’t doesn’t doesn’t doesn’t
understand him. appreciate him. know he’s a gift. know he’s a KING.
His legacy lives on, Only after he is gone. The darkest moments come before dawn. Still he is gone. His Black turned to blue. But his memory lives on. His face is never forgotten, Or so we like to think. The fucked up part is, He’s jus the headline for this week. Next week there will be someone else, another one. And another one. Another beautiful Black soul, gone too soon. Rest in power my Black Kings and Queens. May we meet again on the other side. The truth is, I don’t know where I reside. That HE is ME. I I I I
am am am am
the the the the
Black Black Black Black
boy boy boy boy
they they they they
killed. didn’t value. judged. feared.
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I am the Black boy turned blue, laying in a casket covered with an American flag, that suffocated my soul and left me beaten and bare. I am the Black boy they sacrificed. The Black body has always received attention within the framework of white supremacy, as racist/sexist iconography has been deployed to perpetuate notions of innate biological inferiority. When it comes to obtaining Black liberation, this can only be effectively achieved in society through the use of the Black body to resist white supremacy. Black boys must sacrifice their bodies in order to obtain any kind of justice or reform. Black men can’t breathe, walk down the street, go into a convenience store without being feared, followed and or killed. Black bodies are adding up. Been adding up. When will it end? DO YOU HEAR ME? DO YOU SEE ME? I am the Black boy you sacrificed.
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They all stand in solidarity for an uncomfortable moment. And then... Black Woman 1 The unthinkable reality for Black folks is that they will die, they will die too soon. Black Man 1 Who will protect the innocent Black body that is walking down the street to the candy store?
Black Woman 2 Who will protect the innocent Black body that goes to college and must deal with all the white faces that don’t understand them?
Black Man 2 Who will protect the innocent Black bodies when the white cops, who are “supposed” to protect them, murder them in cold blood and leave their bodies in the street for all to see? ALL WHO WILL PROTECT US? Black Woman 1 Black folks can no longer be a sacrifice and killed off senselessly and carelessly. ALL This painful truth is the reality we live in. ... WHO WILL PROTECT US?
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WHO WILL PROTECT US ? They stand united with their Black fist in the air. They hold this for a moment. Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” plays or Common ft. John Legend “Glory” plays or Lauryn Hill “Black Rage” plays or Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” plays (is there a dope remix?) or J. Cole “Be Free” plays (feel out these songs, maybe there’s something else) Maybe sung by the actors or a recording plays. By the end of the song all the actors should exit.
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