Bearing Witness

Went to this performance called "Hands Up! 6 Playwrights/6 Testaments" put on by The Hansberry Project.  These six pieces had originally been commissioned by New Black Fest of NYC, but the Hansberry Project decided to put them on here after the Ferguson decision.  They were six views of what it's like to be a black man in America at this time.  All were monologues. When asked what their first reactions to the script were upon receiving them, four of the actors said they identified specifically with the situation in their assigned script.

It was powerful.  The house was almost full, the audience, more mixed (gender, race, age) than you often see at plays here.  When asked why we came to the show the answers ranged from: to see good acting, to empathize, to bear witness, to understand, to listen, etc.  And then when the audience was asked what stood out for them, responses were:  holes, "hands up," "target on my back," "the talk," and fear, (among many.)

It was mentioned that the actors had voiced concern over the audience (knowing there would be a lot of white people), but in the end, what needed to be said, was said.  It was heard.  It was that space, the theatre (but art, in general), where truth can still be told.  Where you can be honest and raw.

And for me, I wasn't sure what to expect.  But I wanted to hear, to listen to someone else's daily experience, wholly different from mine.  And I gained some insight into what it's like to always have to be on guard, all the time.  To know what it is to feel like you have a target on your back.  To live in fear for your own life or for those you love when they step outside.  To always be considered guilty.  I don't know what that's like, but hearing it helped me to understand someone else.

And since I've brought this up before (you need to ask what is wanted before acting/speaking on behalf of others), these five items were on the back of the program under "What do they (the protesters) want?"  (And what can I do?):

1. Bodycams and dashcams on police uniforms and cars to record their interactions with citizens.
2. Special prosecutors for officer involved shootings.
3. Training for police on ways to de-escalate situations without resorting to deadly force.
4. Civilian Review Boards with the power to issue subpoenas.
5. Investment in poor communities to promote economic equity.

One of the performances I saw last weekend dealt with brutality/corruption in Mexico, and his experience of arrest (for protesting) reminded me of some of these stories, and finishing Orwell (which might be fiction, but it wasn't written in a vacuum)...these are real experiences.  Do we stand by and do nothing, close our eyes because, "the system is working for me," right now?  Does our silence make us complicit in someone else's suffering?  It makes me think of this Martin Niemöller quote:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

What kind of world to we want to live in?  Must we always live in fear?  Who do we want to be?