On Thursday, July 16, seven gender diverse artists and leaders in our theatre community gathered for a Roundtable to talk about the barriers that Black women, femmes, and nonbinary folx face in our community, guided by JR Nexus Russ. Watch the full discussion on the DCTS Facebook page.
These conversations are not new. Whiteness and White Supremacy in Theatre is traumatizing.
“If we talk about all the ways theatre has traumatized us, all the microaggressions, all of what sometimes feels like death from a thousand paper cuts, we’d be here all year. We’d be here a decade.” ~ Paige Hernandez (She/her), multidisciplinary artist, administrator, hip-hop lover, and the newly named Associate Artistic Director at Everyman Theatre
“I’ve had so many conversations about whiteness in theatre and how pervasive it is, and how often I have had to make myself small.” ~ Nicole Ruthmarie (She/her), Actor, dog-walker, activist, writer.
“My first response to this issue is that it is not my issue to fix, because it is not an issue that I made. Systematic Oppression of black people was not made by black people, so why should we be the ones to fix it?” ~ Temídayo Amay (They/Them), Performance Artist, Producer, Director, Filmmaker (If it’s art they’ve probably tried it).
“What can we do to change it? Not leaving it up to us to start those conversations.” ~ Billie Krishawn (she/her), Pre-Quarantine?: A Full Time Actor, Since Covid?: Community Care Activist.
An hour truly was not enough time to even begin to scratch the surface, but these panelists, generous with their time and spirit, dove hard into the issues. They identified and unpacked so much of the hurt and pain that our gender diverse black colleagues face in the arts, and did so with a care and thoughtfulness that is often overlooked by their peers due to the automatic labels that get assigned to them (in itself its own kind of pain).
“Every time I’ve been in a production, you’re labeled as a problem because you had the nerve to speak up for yourself. It’s this insidious feeling that you’re supposed to be grateful because you were invited to the table.” ~ Boneza Valdez Hanchock (She/Her). Actor, Podcaster, Writer, and trying to stay sane.
“If I had to summarize the way in which I’ve been hurt as a black woman in theatre, is the perception that I have an endless endurance for pain. We’re perceived as being able to take everything.” ~Farah Lawal Harris (She/Her). Artistic Director of Young Playwright’s Theatre, 3rd Generation of the Welders, Playwright, Actor, Mom, Plant Enthusiast, a Daughter, a sister, a friend.
I urge you to watch the video, linked here. It is so much truth packed into a single hour, which needs to be seared into the minds of theatremakers, artists, audiences, and donors. We look at the past few months as a time of transformation, but I’m telling you that we have only begun to arrive at the starting gates, and there is so much work to be done.
“I need y’all to figure it out for yourselves, so that you can show up for me. Because when you show up for me, you show up for yourself as well.” ~ Temídayo Amay
So now you’re at the starting gates, facing what looks like the insurmountable overhaul required to make our theatre community a more just, a more equitable, and a more safe environment.
“The solutions that we need now, where the world is asking us to go as humans? Where it’s asking us to go as a theatre community? Where it’s asking theatre people to go? It’s beyond the imaginations of white people. Those solutions will not be found in the imaginations of white people and we all know why.” ~ Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (She/Her), Performance Artist, Playwright, Advocate, Priestess, Healer, Artist Author, Goddess.
“For DC Theatre specifically, for artistic leadership, and also artists: I would love for Racism, Transphobia, Ableism and all the other isms that affect people who are historically oppressed to be treated with the same level of seriousness as sexual harassment.” ~ Farah Lawal Harris
“We also need to be talking about the shadow work; the work that is in you, that has come from your bloodline. What we are continuing to ask you to do is go inside yourself and break it! Break the bond that continues to haunt you in that way because it is haunting. It is oppressing you. It is killing you from the inside out. Heal yourself, na? Because I’m not about to try and heal myself and then go into the rehearsal room and have to heal you too.” ~ Temídayo Amay
Begin by listening to these words. Sit in your discomfort. Challenge yourself. Then open your eyes and get to work.
Many of these artists are accepting donations, gifts, and reparations. Ways to contact them and support them are listed below.
Nicole Ruthmarie (She/Her)
Website:
Instagram: @Yourruthmarie
Paypal: @ruthmarie09
Cashapp: $Nicoleruthmarie
Venmo: @Nicole-Ruthmarie
Temídayo Amay (They/Them)
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Instagram: TemidayoMA
CashApp: @momoaki (Black Life Sanctuary)
Venmo: @momoaki
Billie Krishawn (She/Her)
Website
I need funds for my activism work, visual art and housing:
Instagram @AbsoluteReality
Cash app $Huggingishealing
Paypal/Venmo @BillieKrishawn (
Boneza Valdez Hanchock (She/Her)
Facebook: Boneza Valdez Hanchock,
Instagram: @bo_in_the_world
Farah Lawal Harris (She/Her)
Website
Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (She/Her)
Website
Venmo: @ladydanefe
Paige Hernandez
Website
JR “Nexus” Russ (He/Him)
Ask Dear Nexus – askdearnexus.com
Instagram – instagram.com/askdearnexus
Facebook – facebook.com/AskDearNexus
Twitter – twitter.com/AskDearNexus
Paypal – paypal.me/AWayofLife0
Patreon – patreon.com/askdearnexus
[Editor’s note: These artists have asked you to listen. They have asked you to take in their insights and do personal work. Now we ask that you be part of creating change by sharing this article with your personal and professional networks.]
Hi,
First and most importantly, THANK YOU to this incredible panel of Black Trans, Femme, and Women artistic creators. This was such a wonderful, informative and important discussion and I am personally grateful that y’all came forth and shared your experiences with the community through this panel. Much love to everyone. I really hope that I will have the joy and excitement of sharing the stage/rehearsal room with each and every one of you someday (whether we’ve worked together already or not!).
Now, to address the poster “ILS” …Hate to burst your bubble, but you’re not going to have to try hard to remember their names, as they work all over town and are community leaders, completely unlike you. THEY had the courage to stand up and speak their experience openly, YOU hid behind an anonymous post. THEY are bringing folks together to create positive change in the DC/DMV Theater Community, YOU are glorifying days when there were fewer folks of color were not in positions of power to speak out against the marginalization of communities of color in theater. You should feel embarrassed and ashamed of yourself. You do not speak for white theatergoers or theatermakers. You are hiding alone and I hope you learn from this experience that you need to learn how to listen and improve yourself.
Sincerely,
Conor Patrick Donahue
I encourage everyone who abhors the hateful, ignorant comments from “ILS” to use their power to uplift the names of Paige Hernandez, Nicole Ruthmarie, Temidayo Amay, Billie Krishawn, Boneza Valdez Hanchock, Farah Lawal Harris, and Dane Figueroa Edidi.
Blowing off steam in the comments section may make you feel better, but in the final equation –
1) Is ILS reading all of this? I couldn’t get through all the comments, and I agree with most of the sentiments expressed, so I’m sure *they’re* not.
2) How are we uplifting the profiles and artistry of these important artists from our own platforms? Are we buying their books? Following their podcasts or social media? Donating to their organizations or Patreon accounts? Sharing their work with decision-makers who can produce their art or sign a contract with them for a project? Are we doing material work to improve their lives as they improve ours with their art, or are we performing outrage just to avoid being called out for ignorance, impotence, apathy, or complicity?
Just a couple of questions that I wanted to put out there…
Maybe the only way to combat the racist ideology and actions of ILS and their ilk from continuing to invade our lobbies and performance spaces is to become an institution whose active anti-racism is so fundamental, they would never feel welcomed or entitled to disturb it in the first place. Teaching artist Nicole Brewer has recently evolved my understanding of the anti-racist theater ethos, and I intend to take that knowledge and recommit to enacting it as a community leader. Thank you to Vaughn for bringing this to my attention. I salute the brilliant artists on the panel for their work and courage and thank DCTheaterScene as well for its work.
Serge Seiden
This Roundtable presented seven theater artists of color who gave a serious, thoughtful, carefully considered discussion of the unfair treatment they have faced. Those brave and generous participants deserve to be heard with the same degree of seriousness and thoughtfulness.
Artists are stepping forward to publicly share what were once private conversations. I don’t expect we will all arrive at the same place of understanding at the same time.
DC Theatre Scene has never knowingly suppressed an opinion or censored a comment, short of slander or other actionable language. We are grateful to all those who have responded to the first comment made in this post.
DC Theatre Scene is providing a safe space for those who have questions or differing points of view and who comment in a productive, respectful manner. Comments which recognize, first, each person’s courage and generosity of spirit in speaking out. To that end, our comments section remains open.
I believe that the collective effort to bring about a better, more humane theater in the Washington area is strengthened when we are able to safely share our truths. I trust that we can open up space, both on the website and in our hearts, so that these conversations — difficult and uncomfortable though they may be — can be had.
These are important voices. This is important work. Our theatre companies are paying attention. And so should all of us.
Thank you to this panel of AMAZING artists for sharing their truth! You are all luminaries in the community.
“ILS” (Incredibly Ludicrous Scoundrel? Insipid, Lamentable Sad-Sack? Intensely Laughable Scalawag? just musing about what it all means of course), in your own misguided way, you have only served to provide an example of what ALL these artists and the theater community at large are struggling against. I hope that from this dialogue, you can “Internalize, Learn, and Shift” your ways of thinking.
-Andrew Quilpa
As astonishing as ILS’s comment is, we can be certain there are many who agree. They just didn’t comment.
I’ve been active in DC theatre since 1984. It has been obvious, over the last thirty years, to what extent white-led theatres have monetized black talent without any commensurate sharing of power.
And what of the black-led theatres that have come and gone, starved of funding?
Donors and municipalities: redirect the cash, the tax breaks, the affordable spaces, the support.
And when anyone speaks truthfully about the pain they feel, which is caused by a system you uphold: question your choice, not their truth.
We have work to do.
“ILS” – The folks that you chose to insult (anonymously) with your ignorant and racist words are more brave and self-aware than you clearly ever will be. There is nothing more for me to add to what has already been much more eloquently put by my theatre colleagues. I simply wanted to take a moment to cordially UNinvite you to any productions/shows/projects that I am involved with in the future. I am including my name below to make it very easy for you to avoid me.
Yours truly,
Amanda Zeitler, MFA
Playwright, actor, artist
And a HELL YES! YES! YES! to everything Jefferson Russell said.
Thank you to Paige Hernandez, Nicole Ruthmarie, Temídayo Amay, Billie Krishawn, Boneza Valdez Hanchock, Farah Lawal Harris, and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi for sharing your words and giving so much to this community. I deeply respect your power and brilliance.
To whoever that ILS person is, I hope you come to learn and feel and regret your hatefulness and willful ignorance. It will be painful for you to become aware that everything you thought was “the right and civil way to be” is actually horrifically, violently oppressive. May you come out the other side of this realization. Until then, please don’t come see any shows I’m part of, or any shows really. I really don’t want my colleagues and friends to face anymore abuse from you.
-Ivania
ILS – I echo the sentiments of many of my DC theatre community colleagues in denouncing your characterization of these incredible artists. They are talented, brilliant, incredible forces for good and represent a way forward for true equity, inclusion and diversity. As a white person, I’ve never walked into a space that wasn’t completely set up to support and uplift me. It has taken years of work and effort to begin to see the innumerable ways in which anyone who is not white is continually burdened, harmed, silenced, harassed and oppressed by those spaces. Spaces, I might add, that non-white people cannot avoid. Shame on us, on white people for demanding our comfort and well-being over the freedom and equality of others who are not white. You refer to white theater people as having “done more than most to make the theater as equitable and diverse as possible.” As a white person in the DC theatre community for the past 20 years I tell you we have not done nearly enough for equity or diversity. We have sat in the comfort of thinking that our minimal efforts are enough because we were taught to believe that the world (this *especially* applies to white men) was ours to take/control/dominate and that Black, Indigenous, POC and LGBTQ+ folks should just be grateful for what little offering they are granted (by white people) to share among their communities. We have been taught a lie. We benefit from that lie. Please stop perpetuating that lie. These visionary artists are brave as hell and I support each one of them wholeheartedly. Please take time to re-evaluate why you were so offended by their words. Please put yourself in the shoes of someone who is not white. Our only way forward is together and there has been far too much suffering and death in order to make white people comfortable.
Jjana
Hi! White supremacy loves an anonymous moment, huh? Fuck you, ILS.
Ps: are those your initials? Bet we can figure them out.
“ILS” – your comment is disgusting, offensive, harmful, shameful, racist, anti-semitic, and personally offensive. I call on DC theater scene to remove it, knowing that it will never fully be removed as your hate filled words have left a permanent mark on the DC theater community, and the screenshot I have taken as evidence of your words will prove that you can never erase the hate you have spewed like vermin. Your cowardice and hidden identity will not go hidden for long if you continue to use hate and harmful, racist language against hard working members of this community. You are a white supremacist, racist, anti-Semite, transphobic/GNC-phobic coward. Please go to therapy and educate yourself. You do not have to live your life as a hate-speech filled bully or a racist troll, yet here you are.
It would be a true honor to work with any of the talented, generous, and insightful individuals on this panel, and it is simply an honor just to know them and their work as a fellow member of the DC theater community. I stand by them as an artist and an advocate.
ILS,
I hope you are capable of realizing your harm and how you are directly contributing to and upholding the oppressive system of white supremacy. All of the voices here who are calling you out are a generous opportunity for you to reflect on and learn from. If you can’t do that, then you better be ready to be crushed by this culture. We are moving forward and dumping your dead weight.
And as for the panel…this group of brilliant black leaders are emanations of goddesses. They are the creators who bring meaning to the world. If that is lost on you, then you need to adjust your perception. If you are threatened by these artists, you may want to examine your delicate self.
ILS,
Your vitriol towards these remarkable artists is the only bullying taking place here, and even bullying is a understatement for such hateful rhetoric. They have given us a huge gift by sharing their experiences, and we should be honoring their insight, not denying it.
I disagree that the DC theatre community has been made as diverse and equitable as possible. Comments like yours only prove that we have a long road ahead of undoing the damage that white supremacy has wrought.
I would be so lucky to work for or alongside the artists interviewed here. Thank you to everyone else that has commented.
Julia Klavans
Hey ILS,
Please do inform your friends, but why don’t you boycott theater all together…ALL of you. That’ll show those nasty women…
Imagine how sad and disappointed they’ll be when they don’t see you after the show…
ILS
These people are brilliant and lovely and the work they are doing is important and gorgeous. Shame on you for your racism and overall hatred. We don’t want you in our community.
The hate and chosen ignorance of the anonymous commenter is drowned out by the extreme expression of love here in these comments and in the DC theater community as a whole. As a theater goer/supporter, I am endlessly inspired by the next generation of actors and writers, and it’s been a long time coming for voices that have previously been silenced to be amplified. It’s a shame someone has decided to hide behind anonymity to spread such hate. But the way this community has come together and spoken out against this small minded person should fill us with hope. The irony is that white supremacy is ultimately anti white, because it is anti human when all is said and done. Nothing good ever came out of violence against humanity. May the hateful commenter learn this, but maybe that’s assuming more intelligence and empathy than deserved.
ILS,
I echo the comments of many folks who have already commented. Your comments are in fact racist, transphobic, classist, and violent. I stand in support of all of the brave artists who came forward in this forum and are continuing to come forward in theatre communities all over the country. We as a community need to listen, learn, and most importantly take action and create systemic change. I am a proud producer who believes that Black Lives Matter and that Trans Lives Matter. You are not welcome in any theatre that I create because your comments and thoughts are violent and I am committed to creating a safe space for all artists and audiences.
Matt Ripa
Artistic Director, DC Queer Theatre Festival
ILS,
I echo the comments of many folks who have already commented. Your comments are in fact racist, transphobic, classist, and violent. I stand in support of all of the brave artists who came forward in this forum and are continuing to come forward in theatre communities all over the country. We as a community need to listen, learn, and most importantly take action and create systemic change. I am a proud producer who believes that Black Lives Matter and that Trans Lives Matter. You are not welcome in any theatre that I create because your comments and thoughts are violent and I am committed to creating a safe space for all artists and audiences.
ILS,
Adding my voice to the many here speaking so much truth. The hate you give is reprehensible. Your cowardice is glaringly evident. You’re part of the problem–and apparently have been for decades.
If this is who you are, if that hate is what you own and what you have to offer, then stay out. Stay all the way out. That white supremesist nonsense should have no place in this community. We might all be a little better off if you stop showing up.
Paige Hernandez, Nicole Ruthmarie, Temídayo Amay, Billie Krishawn, Boneza Valdez Hanchock, Farah Lawal Harris, and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi are brave, honest and thoughtful humans.
You are a racist. To say the very least.
Kick Rocks,
Pete Danelski
I am so appreciative that these phenomenal artists choose to make art in DC.
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
ILS,
I hope you understand the irony of calling these artists despicable as you hide behind the anonymity of your keyboard.
Firstly, they are not racist and they cannot be racist. As many others have explained here, racism is rooted in systemic oppression. You are not oppression. Most certainly not by your government.
Next, if you’re going to call someone out, at least properly address them by their pronouns, not by calling them women. This is another act of white supremacy and aggression: erasing identities that are not your own.
There is nothing that any of us here can say to get you to understand the magnitude of learning you have yet to accomplish, but I hope you start.
If you don’t understand these artists’ points of view, their exhaustion, and their work, you are willfully trying not to.
If you feel triggered by something, look deep, deep into yourself and examine why. You are a racist. If you don’t want to be categorized as such, start doing the work. You have a long way to go.
I want to thank the brave artists who participated in this panel. Their names do indeed deserve to be remembered, not just because of their place they held in this moment, but because they are incredible artists who, despite a global pandemic, a national uprising, and an unprecedented closure of theatre doors across the world – still want to be a part of the theatre community. They are working to make it better despite how unwelcome they were made to feel, how many additional challenges they had to face, and in spite of disparaging comments, like yours, “ILS”.
I wish you would allow us to remember your name, and speak publicly, so we could blacklist it on our audience rolls. Hate is not welcome here, and neither is intolerance. On that, it seems we agree. We do not agree on WHO it is that is being those things.
If we are so fortunate to open our theatres again, I hope DC theatre includes these artists or someone like them in every production.
I’m so incredibly grateful to these Black women and nonbinary artists for the extensive work they do in our community, as both artists and activists.
Please support these artists directly using their cash apps of choice or through hiring them and sharing their work!!
(And anyone who holds the views expressed in that hateful, racist, misogynistic comment isn’t WELCOME at any performances I’m involved with. I don’t want your money or your support.)
To ILS
It sounds to me like you have been an obstacle to progress since the 70’s. I have to wonder in all your years of theatergoing– what kind of harm have you caused to BIPOC artists and audience members. How have you prevented change from coming to the DC theater community? While I don’t know who you are, based on your comments, I can only imagine the racist, transphobic, white supremacist behavior you have brought into our theater spaces and the open disrespect and harm you have caused in the past and continued to cause with your post.
Perhaps you would like to write an article naming all the magnificent white people to which you allude to.
I think the DC community will be better off if the next 30 years of theater going does not include you.
ILS,
My colleagues and other respondents in this thread have astutely stated so much of what I felt in reading your comment. I stand in strong support of those statements in protection of these artists who have shared with such strength and vulnerability.
Your words have revealed the need to recognize and embrace the concept of restorative justice in theatre. Restorative justice is based on three pillars – harm and needs, obligation to set things right, and the engagement of stakeholders. Theatre must engage in restorative justice, as the crimes committed in the theatre community are the result of racism and white supremacy. This is not past tense.These seven brave and bold theatre makers have named the harm that has been inflicted upon Black, Indigenous, Brown, artists of color, and notably Black-trans artists, and have shared the harm done to the communities whose narratives they give voice to. Those may be hard facts for you to hear, but they are facts.
We were born into a racist society; that was the foundation of this nation. That is also a fact. We have been swimming in it, breathing it, teaching our children through it. You may believe you are not racist, but your words betray you. And let us consider what “not racist” even means. To quote Dr. Ibram Kendi, “What’s the problem with being “not racist”? It is a claim that signifies neutrality: “I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.” But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” It is “antiracist.” (Kendi, How to an Antiracist, 2018).
Can you say you are actively anti-racist? And is what you have done been movement towards anti-racism or was it towards assimilation? At best, assimilation is what past actions like yours has sought, as you aimed to “be as equitable and diverse as possible,” meaning, you permitted the centering of white narratives, experiences, and presence. That is not anti-racist; in fact, that is racist. That still places you in positional power, then believing you deserve recognition for the undoing of an injustice that essentially you – and all who did not daily commit to the undoing of racism – permit to pervade in theatre, the cultural transmission of our lived experiences. Your “threat” to “tell your friends to never attend another theatre production” in which these leaders are involved is further proof of this racism because your privilege and position promotes that inequity, attempting to hold power over others whose words you do not wish to hear as they may cause you to examine your own culpability.
To see restorative justice through one must recognize the harm done and see the needs are met, recognize our obligation to set things right (and not rest until they are), and to fully engage all stakeholders involved. We must remember who are the stakeholders (and it is not those who sit on a board – it’s the whole community) and hold ourselves accountable to them. This is an opportunity to receive the words of these seven extremely articulate theatre artists in all of their brutal honesty, placing yourself in a position of learning. Recognize there is work to be done and that you – like many – are an unfinished product, but this is not the end unless you wish it to be.
paz,
Elena Velasco
Artistic Director, Convergence Theatre
ILS,
Today I choose to call you out. Your comments are racist, supremacist, transphobic, and nonbinaryphobic. I have had the honor and priviledge that three of these seven artists have worked or soon will work at my theatre, and I would consider it an honor and a priviledge if the other four ever choose to work at my theatre. I invite you to examine why the brilliant words, vulnerable emotions and truth telling of these seven artists has forced you to react with such hate. I invite you to examine why you chose to hide behind anonymity. And I strongly urge you to do the work necessary, as white folx, to dismantle the systems that have caused grave oppression and harm for hundreds of years. And finally, in regard to you not attending another DC theatre production that “these seven” appear, you’ve already let us know how you plan to move forward with that, but you need to know you are not welcome at mine whether those artists are involved or not.
Black Lives Matter
Joseph Ritsch
Artistic Director Rep Stage
ILS,
Lucky for us, your patronage will soon expire. Coward.
Disrespectfully yours,
Christian Sullivan
ILS,
Today I choose to call you out. Your comments are racist, supremacist, transphobic, and nonbinaryphobic. I have had the honor and priviledge that three of these seven artists have worked or soon will work at my theatre, and I would consider it an honor and a priviledge if the other four ever choose to work at my theatre. I invite you to examine why the brilliant words, vulnerable emotions and truth telling of these seven artists has forced you to react with such hate. I invite you to examine why you chose to hide behind anonymity. And I strongly urge you to do the work necessary, as white folx, to dismantle the systems have cause grave oppression and harm for hundreds of years. And finally, in regard to you not attending another DC theatre production that “these seven” appear, you’ve already let us know how you plan to move forward with that, but you need to know you are not welcome at mine whether those artists are involved or not.
Black Lives Matter
Joseph Ritsch
Artistic Director Rep Stage
ILS, your misgendering, white supremacist, hateful, ignorant being and energy should not be welcome in artistic spaces and yet has been allowed to flourish for too long. We do not require your patronage, and I hope all of the backlash you’ve received shows you how small you are.
The artists on the panel are fierce and brilliant truth-seekers. Full stop.
The anonymous penner of the racist screed is a frightened, soon-to-be-obsolete, misguided theatre-goer.
As theatre artists, our superpowers include radical empathy and better-than-average listening skills.
But ILS, I can’t do it. I fiercely denounce your hurtful and counter-productive POV. But “thanks for sharing.”
Peace –
Susan Rome
Artist Ally Advocate
I’m contributing my voice to the chorus of voices burying the hateful comment below.
This was an insightful, brave, powerful discussion featuring brilliant Black women, femme, and non-binary artists. I encourage anyone outraged by the violence of that commenter and inspired by these artists to support them with your patronage, money, and hiring power. Their websites, social media, Venmos, PayPals, CashApps, and Patreons are at the bottom of the article.
Brigitte Winter
She/Her/Hers
Sorry, I’m still laughing at the idea that anyone on this panel could be considered a bully. Especially when compared to the incredibly offensive, heartless, and ignorant comment you just posted, ILS.
I won’t take up too much space since everyone has already made the comments I would make. I hope you take the time to read them and learn. It’s never too late to learn how to be a better person.
All my love to Nicole Ruthmarie, Temídayo Amay, Dane Figueroa Edidi, Billie Krishawn, Boneza Valdez Hanchock, Paige Hernandez, and Farah Lawal Harris! Each of you is such an amazing artist who gives their heart and soul to their work. Our community is lucky to have each of you in it.
It has been my privilege to know, work with, and learn from most of the brilliant humans who participated in this discussion. Their words and experiences are truth. They deserve our respect. And white theatre-makers and audiences who feel uncomfortable with this need to look inward for the answer why.
ILS,
There’s nothing left to say to you here that hasn’t already been said, just that let’s call you what you are: disgusting. Whatever racist trash can you came from, please go back to it. WHEN technology shows us who you are, you will not be seeing ANY theatrical productions let alone ones that these courageous people are in. You’re done here. This producer stands with these artists and will tell many about you.
I’d like to comment again to apologize for characterizing these artists as women- they are a collective group of women, femmes, and non-binary artists.
ILS,
“More than most” does not mean “enough,” as the conversation in this article (and the discussion) clearly shows. To say that white theater people have done “more than most” is almost as much of a cop-out as posting a hate-filled rant without using your own name.
Everyone who has responded to you thus far has done so eloquently, making points that I wholeheartedly agree with. To those comments, I will only add that your decision to not see any art created by the amazing artists here is the epitome of “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” As a self-proclaimed “theater goer in DC since the 1970s,” you have no doubt already enjoyed, been moved by, and been inspired by the work of some, if not all of these artists. If your goal is to avoid that work to prove an anonymous, cowardly point, then you hurt yourself more than anyone else.
As a theater creator, I can tell you that your attendance will not be missed. You simply free-up a seat for the rest of us at productions that will no doubt be sought-after tickets, knowing the work of the people quoted in this article.
ILS,
Your tears here only further prove the point these black nonbinary folk, women, and femme artists talked about in this panel. If white people in theatre actually did “everything possible” to make theatre equitable then there would be no need for this panel or for “We See You”. White people budged only enough to allow black folx to visit and make white people feel good. They didn’t make room for black artists to take charge on the narratives we tell. Your anger at these people voicing their pain and trauma only reveals that you believe the comfort of white people is more important than than the livelihood of black people. And if you actually watched the whole panel you would know that. Go watch the whole panel. Sit through your discomfort and actually listen to what these people are saying. And when you’re done send them some money for the time they spent and harm you caused by calling out their names and encouraging the silencing of their voices.
Magenta Howard
She/Her/Hers
ILS, you’re a coward. I’d like for you to respond with your name so I know who to avoid in person, but since you’re a coward, I’ll just let you know you should avoid me. I’m Regina Aquino. I perform all over town and work as an activist with my friends who you have racially attacked in your comment. You are a white supremacist, you can’t hide that by ridiculously throwing around the word Nazi, and you and all of your white supremacist friends should not ever attend a show I perform in either. We don’t want or need your racist money or conditional support. Our art is not for you. We don’t perform for you. You don’t deserve to witness what the artists you attacked create or the knowledge they are willing to teach. I feel sorry for you because you’re clearly reacting to the realization that you and the racist systems you benefit from are quickly becoming obsolete. But if you can’t evolve… well, we all know what happened to the dinosaurs don’t we?
ILS,
If your fifty years of patronage has culminated in threats and animus toward theatre artists of the very community that you claim to support, I think you had better re-examine what your patronage is worth. These artists are daring to make our community better by asking the uncomfortable but necessary questions about our city’s past, our country’s past. Your answer above—given under a pseudonym no less—is proof enough of your character. If the only conclusion you’ve come to is asking “but what about white people?” and going off on a litany of hatred toward the fine folks I work with and care about, I ask that you to think more critically about your place in the DC Theatre Scene. And if you can’t do that, stay home. We would rather not have your so-called support.
You are a cowardly [insert offensive word here]. I admire and proudly stand with my Theatre colleagues as they work for equity and toward dismantling sexist, racist, white-centered practices that have permeated our industry for far too long. And it would seem that losing you and those who subscribe to your archaic racist and sexist sentiments is a victory in this battle. So dry your tears and close the door on your way out. And here’s your stage direction–Exeunt, pursued by bear. The bear, of course, symbolized by those seven incredible artists whose names I hope you DO remember–as those who have shown you to be the feckless coward you are. For that matter, feel free to remember my name too.
Also, Black Lives Matter.
Jefferson A Russell
(Actor/founding member and administrator of Galvanize, a network of Artists of Color)
You are a cowardly [insert offensive word here]. I admire and proudly stand with my Theatre colleagues as they work for equity and toward dismantling sexist, racist, white-centered practices that have permeated our industry for far too long. And it would seem that losing you and those who subscribe to your archaic racist and sexist sentiments is a victory in this battle. So dry your tears and close the door on your way out. And here’s your stage direction–Exeunt, pursued by bear. The bear, of course, symbolized by those seven incredible artists whose names I hope you DO remember–as those who have shown you to be the feckless coward you are. For that matter, feel free to remember my name too.
Also, Black Lives Matter.
Jefferson A Russell
It is bizarre that you wish to glorify the white people as the ones who have worked to make theatre equitable, when none of them would have taken action without Black and BIPOC artists having to first advocate for their own seat at the table against a system that has disenfranchised them, and still to this day seeks to marginalize them (even in the telling of their own stories). White voices still dominate the discourse, which is why this group of Black artists (women, Non-binary, and femme) are speaking up – it is groundbreaking that they are having this conversation that you, as an avowed theatre goer, have a duty to listen to and learn from. Your refusal to learn the ways in which our current system harms and damages Black artists is an abdication of your responsibility in society.
If you cannot learn from this, and choose to cloister yourself away and blind yourself to the reality of this industry, your support is directly unwelcome.
1) Calling women and non-binary artists that were BRAVE enough to participate in an ANTI-RACISM panel, out their names makes YOU the despicable, offensive, bully, NOT THEM.
2) Did you expect Black women and non-binary folx, as THE MOST OPPRESSED group in the country, to sings songs about how wonderfully and harmlessly they’ve been treated?!? Hm, how sheltered you must be.
3) If folx in this panel “insulted” anyone, allow THOSE PEOPLE that were “insulted” to make their feelings known. They’re big boys and girls, and I’m sure they don’t need you to express their feelings for them. Unless YOU’RE one of the people they mentioned!?
4) Hard-working people are indeed still capable of offending, harming, and discriminating against others, as you have clearly demonstrated with your comment and antiquated perspective.
5) YOU DO NOT STAND UP to people that are dismantling racism! Stand up to the reality that these courageous artists apparently revealed to you.
6) “false accusations?!” Are you a detective? Were you in these rehearsal rooms and work spaces when these artists were being mistreated? You know for a FACT that each and every one of these panelists were lying? Or are you more uncomfortable of the truth that friends and colleagues you know and associate with are less than perfect?
7) Yes, progress has made between the 70s and today, of course, and it should! That’s called humanity. We will not give awards out for people doing the right thing, and more importantly, we WILL NOT allow past efforts validate or excuse present day harms. “people who…have done more than most to make the theater as equitable and diverse as possible.” First of all, YOU nor your colleagues can assess or gauge the possibilities of true equity and diversity, because YOU do not experience its limitations. LISTEN to oppressed people when they say things are STILL broken! WE, the bearers of hardship, will inform you once we feel safe. If your friends have done “more than most,” and yet these artists are describing the harm done under THEIR leadership, just imagine the hurt others are feeling under the leadership of “the most!”
8) These panelists were not being “hateful,” they have been HURT! Know the difference!
9) To compare Black women and non-binary people to Nazis IN ANY WAY, is THE AB-SO-LUTE MOST ABSURD and DISGUSTING argument I could entertain. Luckily, I choose not to entertain it, or YOU, bringing me to final point…
10) We are experiencing a global pandemic, a revolution to validate that Black lives indeed matter, and as artists, a life-changing professional depression. For you to even attempt to rally folks behind you to shame and financially cripple these brave souls is [whatever offensive word YOU removed]! Feel free to add me to your list, as I affirm EVERYTHING that was spoken by everyone on that panel, and have no desire to entertain you critically or creatively!
To my dismay, my parents taught me to respect my elders, and despite your lack of reciprocation here, I will part with…
Love, Light, and MUCH Learning to you,
Vaughn Ryan Midder
First of all, they’re not all women. Please do not misgender those in the panel who are not women.
There is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been covered by the people commenting above, or the fine folx on the roundtable.
White people are not responsible for the diversity that we enjoy today. That push was from BIPOC artists, especially Black Women. Our current theatre climate, despite all our combined efforts, is still largely white, still steeped in white supremacy and racism, and, as you have made clear, supported by that same white supremacy and racism.
What you are perpetuating here is racist violence, and transmisogynoir. This is not something that this community of artists will suffer. You can go ahead and boycott everything I do as well, as well as every article I write, every show i direct, write, or act in.
I renounce your support.
Check your racism. Live in your discomfort. Educate yourself.
Reverse racism is not real, “ILS.”
I pity you for your narrow mind, hateful ideology, obvious fear, and how you’ve shut yourself off to the talent and insight of these artists. The “equitable and diverse” theatre industrial complex you mention is a lie. The artists you name have put in the labor to explain why and by attacking them in response you are proving their point.
It would be an honor to collaborate with any of these artists and although you, “ILS,” would be worse off for missing out on their talent, the community won’t miss you. Educate yourself.
ILS, I would ask you to not speak for or claim to come to the defense of “white theatre people.” I’m a white theatre person- a maker and a patron. I am in no way insulted or demeaned by these brave and insightful artists speaking truth. I recognize the difficulty of confronting your own privilege and the urge to defend yourself- but if you choose to really hear and learn instead of lash out, your growth will do wonders for you. If you love theatre in this town, you should want it to be better- as these artists want.
I hope you grow and see work by these artists, but I think if you intend on only ever bringing the hate you claim to be affronted by into these spaces, please don’t. In fact, please also do not patronize productions I work on, unless you want to engage. We do not need hate in our audiences unless it is from minds who might be open to release that hate.
Take time to think why you reacted so strongly to their words, and see what you fear and hate in yourself. I am saying this as a white man who has certainly had to confront similar feelings and am grateful to humans like these panelists for helping me become educated.
Anonymity and a refusal to engage stop conversations, and make your own voice meaningless- it is not seen as the act of courage or principle that you think it is.
My name is Patrick Lord, btw, because as you pointed out, speaking names aloud has power. I’m easy to find and I’ll make it easier with my email as [email protected] if you want to talk.
And lastly, I am sad that you claim to be a lover and supporter of this art while also being so comfortable threatening livelihoods of artists.
This is an important moment for you and I hope you embrace it.
ILS-
Where to begin? I can only imagine that I’ve had the severe misfortune of crossing paths with you in my time as an actor in DC theater. I hope that I am lucky enough to work with any and all of these seven artists, so that I won’t have to see you again, either.
What is it about these women telling their own personal stories of things they have literally experienced themselves that makes you so angry? Why is it that you are so desperate to hold on to this narrative of a white savior in order to invalidate their shared – and very real – experiences? Please, be a human. Hold onto whatever empathy you have. Listen. Come to terms with the fact that we have been living in a lie taught to us by white supremacy- the lie which you have bafflingly repeated over and over in your racist, insulting comment. What you insinuate is that these women should “shut up and be grateful”. It is the same insinuation this country has against all Black people, people of color, poor people, Trans and non-binary people, women, and people in younger generations. We refuse to allow that lie to stand, anymore. How dare you hide behind your acronym and your screen and name these women, threatening them with withholding your audience? Honestly- good riddance. You are not needed. Your hate is not welcome. If you read these words, or some of the kinder and gentler words of the other replies and your heart is softened, then great. I hope you evolve. But I’m not holding my breath.
Sincerely,
Caroline Dubberly
Actor
The folx on this panel are all generous, well-spoken, and fierce individuals who do not deserve your anger, hate, and discomfort. Shame on you for threatening their careers with your privileged anonymity and paralleling them with the most murderous, vicious, violent, and intolerant group in history. This type of behavior and rhetoric will not go unanswered by those of us are listening, learning, and making space for previously unheard voices to be heard.
ILS, I welcome you to reread the article again. From your comment, it’s obvious that you are having an intense emotional reaction to this article and its voicing of the systemic racism within the DC theatre community. I encourage you to examine why you are having such an intense emotional reaction? Do you feel attacked? If so, why? Is it because you’ve benefited/enjoyed this broken racist system because of your race, gender, or class? Are you complicit with perpetuating racism within the DC theatre community? Potentially you are not, but if you advise your friends not to support these artist simply because they have voiced their experiences, you are commiting an overt act of racism. Sit in that.
These insightful and courageous Black women, femme, and non-binary theatre creators are voicing their experiences of racism, sexism, and discrimination within the DC theatre community. They are not racist. Bringing light to ones pain is not a racist act. They are critical of a system that is broken and disproportionately favors white, male, and cis theatre makers and theatre goers. These artists are not expressing hate. They are devoting their time, voices, and opinions in an act of love and hope that the DC theatre community can be better. They are asking white theatre makers and theatre goers to take on the responsibility of improving a broken system. Being critical and honest is not being hateful.
In closing ILS, you are a scared individual. You can’t even attach your name to your hateful rhetoric because you know you are in the wrong. If you are not willing to acknowledge your role in the broken system, then DC theatre will lovingly leave you behind. Hate does not belong here. If you chose not to see these artists work, you will suffer, not them. Your cowardice and racism will keep you from witnessing the brilliant visionary work of these Black women, femme, and non-binary theatre artists.
Hi there –
It is interesting to me that you call out these professionals’ names, yet you hide behind a screen name.
If you’re going to criticize these artists when they are brave enough to speak their truth but you’re too cowardly to put your name on your comment… that says more about you than them.
I look forward to your response and your full name.
The cowardice it must take to anonymously make a comment like this one. The awareness that the hatred is coming from you it must take to anonymously make a comment like this one. You feel a need to say it but you’re too scared to say it as yourself.
These women, femmes, and non-binary folx are brave for speaking their minds and demanding equity in our profession. And they are right about what they are saying. These women, femmes, and non-binary folx will be and are leaders in the DC theatre community. Who are you with your anonymous white tears?
I have been a theater goer in DC since the 1970s. These women are despicable [offensive word removed], racist bullies, all in the purest meaning of these words. Shame of them for insulting and demeaning white theater people, admirable, hard-working people who, in the past 40 years, have done more than most to make the theater as equitable and diverse as possible. Who is going to stand up to them, to challenge theIr assumptions and false accusations. Who is willing to call them out in today’s hate-filled, silencing world of the politicially-correct left. These women are as intolerant as the hate-filed ranters of Nazi third reich in the 1930s. I will remember their names: Paige Hernandez, Nicole Ruthmarie, Temídayo Amay, Billie Krishawn, Boneza Valdez Hanchock, Farah Lawal Harris, Dane Figueroa Edidi. I will advise my friends never to attend another DC theater production in which any of these seven appear until each of them apologizes and confesses why they were so hateful towards those who’ve done so much for our theater community.