Volume 29 Issue 4

Page 1

February 9, 2024

GREATER HOUSTON EDITION African-American News&Issues

Vol. 29, Issue 04

FREE

History is His Story, not the Truth or Our Story - Roy Douglas Malonson

“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”

L-R: Kendrick “Kay B” Brown (Lymon), Lakeisha Randall (Berniece), Timothy Eric (Wining Boy), Alex Morris (Doaker), Kendall Goode (Maretha), Krystal Uchem (Grace), Curtis Von (Avery) and Jason Dirden (Boy Willie)

“THE PIANO LESSON”

Camp Logan, circa 1917, was a World War I Army training facility located where Memorial Park is now.

DEAD IS DEAD By: Rachel Thompson

The Houston Riot of 1917, which occurred on August 23rd has maintained lasting repercussions on race relations between the Houston Police Department and Black Houstonians for over 100 year. Depending on who tells the story, the heroes and villains change. In 1917, the heroes were the five White Houston police offers who died in the line of duty that day. The riot was sparked by the arrest of a Black soldier for interfering with the arrest of a Black woman in the Forth Ward. Recently the US Army set aside the court-martial convictions from over a century ago of 110 African

American soldiers, including 19 who were executed, saying they were denied fair trials in a landmark acknowledgement of official racism in America. The Army Board for Correction of Military Records overturned the convictions, restoring their service records as having concluded honorably and making their descendants eligible for military benefits. The historic change comes after the Army received petitions from retired general officers and the South Texas College of Law, requesting a review of the court’s decision and

Camp on pg. 3

PROVOKES THE POWER OF LEGACY, The Ensemble Theatre proudly presents “The Piano Lesson,” as the third production of its 47th Season, “Legacy Alive: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.” “The Piano Lesson,” winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is the fourth play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle/ Century Cycle. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, “The Piano Lesson” is centered on a 137-year-old heirloom, a piano, with carvings that incarnate the Charles family’s ancestral lineage and spirit. Celebrity artist Jason Dirden, known for ‘Greenleaf and ‘American Soul,’ returns home to Houston and The Ensemble Theatre as Boy Willie Charles. Along with Dirden, the stellar cast includes Lakeisha Randle (Berniece Charles), Alex Morris (Doaker Charles), Kendrick “Kay B” Brown (Lymon), Timothy Eric (Wining Boy Charles), Curtis Von (Avery), Kendall Goode (Maretha Charles) and Krystal Uchem (Grace). I recently sat down with the “Charles” men to discuss “The Piano Lesson,” legacy and August Wilson’s impact on theatre. (Interview edited for length and clarity.) “The Piano Lesson” embodies themes like family/ legacy/historical relevancy. How does your character respond to the overarching question, “What do you do with legacy?” ALEX: I think Doaker is the historian. He is now the real patriarch of the family. Everybody ends up at Doaker’s place because he’s the one who has always maintained a sense of consistency. He also is protective of his family … that father figure, that rock, which is an

Piano Lesson on pg. 5


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