There’s something very special that occurs when you are at a Black play, written by a Black playwright, for an anticipated Black audience.
There’s something even more special when it is transformational and participatory so that the audience can begin their transformation.
The Congo Square Theatre in Chicago has created an emotional time machine that engages the souls of all entrance to understand what Police brutality is, what racism is, what allyship might be if it existed, and what gentrification and privilege are through a lens that is often ignored by the Black lens.
If you are Black and afraid to deal with the racism of these United States, this could be uncomfortable for you if you expected to be able to have an easy comedic experience.
Playwright Aleshea Harris said the production was specifically for Black people, Congo Theatre creative director Ericka Ratcliff said.
Exclusivity is a luxury in a society that impresses those that are not in the majority. This custom-made experience of Black genius can be complicated for those who want life to be seen through norms that are far too old and demeaning.
In an hour-and-a-half, the questions and answers given by the audience and the actors wed emotions that many ignore, but have experienced in America.
Black Americans often need more radicalization to deal with the constant trauma that an oppressive society generates daily.
The radicalization is also an honest litmus test on how you are going to manage the injustice and historical discrimination. This has not been erased from a society that stays in constant denial that reparations are needed if there is disparity in healthcare and the criminal justice system.
Wink and you might miss an opportunity of a lifetime as this play is closing, but you will not be able to close the wounds, nor the tombs, that this play gives us freedom from while forging new considerations for approaching America for justice.
For more information on the play visit https://www.congosquaretheatre.org/whattosendup.
Photo Gallery courtesy of Congo Square Theatre
