Black History Month – The Media Pub News (TM)

Passage Theatre revives revolutionaries during Black History Month

TRENTON, N.J. – In conjunction with Black History Month, Passage Theatre featured two plays about characters who were revolutionaries within the context of their time periods in American history.

Fred Hampton, the revolutionary of the 1960s Black Panthers Party, comes alive as Actor Richard Bradford performs his story at Passage Theatre.
— Photo by Michelle Dryden

The Passage Theatre Company located in the historic Mill Hill Playhouse at 205 E. Front St. in Trenton, hosted the Solo Flights series of shows from Feb. 8 to 17.

The 2019 series of shows included their first play called, “To My Unborn Child: A Love Letter From Fred Hampton,” written and performed by Richard Bradford as Fred Hampton. John Doyle directed it.

The second revolutionary play in the series was titled “Bicycle Face,” which was written and performed by Hannah Van Sciver, and directed by David O’Connor.

Even though both shows were equally important to American History, the first play depicts the struggles of Black America more vividly.

“To My Unborn Child: A Love Letter From Fred Hampton,” a “powerful play about change, love, and legacy, sheds fresh light on a little understood period of our country’s history, and was originally produced by Iron Age Theatre,” states Elizabeth Zuckerman, administrative and marketing associate at Passage Theatre.

The audience, who attended the first night of the Fred Hampton play was in for a profound experience as they had the company of Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, where Fred Hampton was also a member.

Even Bradford, who was acting as Fred Hampton in his solo performance, said he was overjoyed by Seale’s appearance.

“I almost cried when he reached up at me and shook my hands,” said Bradford.

Along with Huey P. Newtown, Seale co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966, serving as chairman.

In 1968, on trial as one of the “Chicago Eight,” he was famously chained and gagged in the courtroom after requesting that his lawyer be present.

He has written several books including his autobiography A Lonely Rage, which provides invaluable windows into the history and ideology of the 20^thCentury American political protest.

Artistic Director at Passage Theatre, Ryanne Domingues, states that, “We are honored to have Mr. Seale speak to our community…”

She mentions that Seale was an activist who helped to shape the landscape of social activism and community outreach, and that his stories of the past are now part of our collective history.

Likewise, Fred Hampton was a visionary Black Panther, who was also a revolutionary fighting for social justice, but was murdered by Chicago police as he lay by his pregnant lover at age 21.

Thus, there was a letter written to his unborn child.

Hampton preached a humane, compassionate revolution against racist brutality, child hunger, poverty, and capitalism.

Bradford brought Hampton’s legacy to life on the stage as he performed a well-researched and timeless-written play.

The actor said he wrote the play about three years ago, and said that he even spoke with Hampton’s son, who still lives in Chicago.

Bradford also said he thinks that the Black Panther’s movement still exists in society today, but that it has evolved in art forms such as music.

While the Black Panthers fought for justice against racism and other social movements, women in America had been fighting for equality to men even before that time.

Hannah Van Sciver acts as the three women in the feminism play, “Bicycle Face.”
— Photo by Michelle Dryden

So, the second Solo Flights play this year, titled, “Bicycle Face” addresses that issue.

In the early 19^thCentury, there was a movement for women to become just as mobile as men, by riding bicycles.

Van Sciver played the part of three female characters who were trying to revolutionize their worlds, hoping society would get better for them.

She showed how they tried to find their place in their new societies even after one getting in trouble for riding a bicycle.

Women fighting for the power to ride bicycles, revolutionize their clothing where they could begin to wear pants, and also helped them to be more than just homemakers who previously had no way to get outside their homes.

Both plays recognize the humanity of their characters’ actions within the context of their time, states Dominguez.

“Whether speaking at a rally, or simply riding a bike, all of the characters in this year’s Solo Flights are revolutionaries,” she notes.

Black History Month allows for reflection on America’s role as ‘melting pot’ for ethnic cultures

History teaches us that America thrived for decades with appropriate, controlled approach to immigration that allowed for ethnic diversity of cultures, literature, art, foods, music and other contributions from immigrants who assimilated into America’s common culture and institutions.

However, unless we preserve the values of a “melting pot’’ culture that makes America great, we stand to lose the successes of a country that brings people together, and America will change its appeal to the world.

During Black History Month, leaders and organizers of events hope that Americans at large and African-Americans will remember our history, our struggles, and the black males and females who have contributed to American society and thus makes it a better place to live for future generations.

Likewise, many other cultures and minority groups in America share a similar sentiment of wanting inclusion and recognition for their contributions to making America great.

But with illegal immigration, a struggling economy and declining real wages, terrorism and national security, government spending and taxation, record-high political partisanship, America has been changing its tune on immigration.

Times have been tense in America for years, with the double-whammies of the Great Recession and the roll-out of Obamacare pitting the left against the right. With dollars seeming scarcer, America’s diverse groups may feel more competitive than cooperative, anxious about access to jobs, housing, and government influence.

The election of billionaire real estate mogul, Donald Trump, to the White House has exacerbated the already wide gulf between the left and right. As perhaps the most controversial major party presidential nominee in history, Trump’s aggressive and unchecked rhetoric had already incensed women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community long before Election Day. His election upset, coming despite losing the popular vote by a record 2.9 million votes, was seen by many as a signal that a wide swath of the electorate no longer appreciated diversity or inclusiveness.

Trump’s inaugural address, in which he declared “America first,” further alarmed the left by taunting the Washington establishment and declaring that America had been taken advantage of by other countries. The property tycoon blamed foreigners for the United States’ economic malaise, both illegal immigrants allegedly taking jobs and globalized competitors allegedly taking America’s business.

Immediately after taking office on Jan. 20, Donald Trump continued raising eyebrows by seeking to keep all of his campaign promises. While politicians are ordinarily lauded for such practice, Trump’s supporters had actually tried to make the billionaire more palatable to the public by insisting that he should not be taken literally. Literally is what we have gotten from the Oval Office: Trump’s most controversial acts in his two weeks in office have been signing executive orders to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and ban any immigrants or refugees from seven predominantly-Islamic nations in the Middle East.

These two executive orders hammer home that the White House no longer considers the United States to be a genuine melting pot. Immigrants were once accepted as part of the powerful blend of America, but no more. In Trump’s America, immigrants are seen as statistics that must be monitored: Examined for crime, economic contribution, birth rate, use of welfare. While the president has not publicly suggested that immigration be discontinued, he has gone further than any modern-day predecessor in insisting that immigration has been a bust rather than a boon.

By portraying immigrants from Latin America as criminals, rapists, and drug dealers, Trump has actively sought to turn his supporters, and all citizens, against the idea of America as a melting pot. He wants us to see Mexicans as dangerous job-stealers and Muslims as budding proto-terrorists. If he can destroy the age-old idea of the U.S. as a melting pot, he can successfully pit societal groups against each other and enhance his own power. Once we become a society of us-versus-them, each group will constantly seek the favor of the White House…and guarantee Trump a second term.
— Calvin Wolf contributed to this report
Wolf is his pen name and he has published over 2,000 articles on sites like the Yahoo! ContributorNetwork, Examiner, Helium, DigitalJournal, The News Hub, and Hubpages, as well as for his local newspaper. He has also published eight political thriller novels and is an AP teacher.