Last Tuesday we opened another show at
InterActive Theater. This is a favorite of my plays. It was also,
the hardest to write. What we respect aboot george Washington
Carver is who he was and what he became, not how he achieved
greatness. George was born into slavery as it was abolished and
then was kidnapped by an early version of the KKK. He lost both of
his natural parents and was reared by two white, German farmers in
Missouri. He was nurtured and encouraged through his developmental
years and then loosed into the world a young man. There he
discovered violence, prejudice and hatred. Obviously he survived ,
then excelled, and achieved more than 15 minutes of fame. You may
know him as the Peanut Man, but he was much more.
Back in 1998, 3 separated folks recommended we do a play aboot GWC.
We felt, maybe this was a hint of a whisper of a wink of a sign
that we should do so. I read Carver's memoirs (a collection of
brochures and letters) in order to build my play on the true man,
not a legend. I found out that he was a man with a passion for
"Creation" as he called it and a heartfelt desire to pull up those
who were cast at the bottom of society and help them to stand on
their own. After the Civil War the South was destitute. Poor white
farmers couldn't understand why their crops were withering and
starving. Carver researched a method of crop rotation that used
peanuts and sweet potatoes to re-enrich the soil. To popularize
this theory and to make peanut growin' practical, he discovered 300
different uses for the legume. Who would want to grow a cashless
crop? Eventually, Carver became renowned enough that he was invited
to speak before congress.
Here was a man who cared for the needs of others more than his own.
He was known to keep notes on the back of paychecks because he did
not want to waste paper. He became friends with Henry Ford (a
racist and fan of Hitler) and 3 different presidents. He went on
speaking tours and was appreciated by many Americans. At Tuskeegee
University in Alabama, he was ostracized by the staff, loved by his
students, and bumped heads with the president (Booker T Washington)
yet remained there even though better offers were made. When he
died in 1943 he left his estate to the University and became the
most reserved celebrity in our nations history.
This is African American history month, and I hope you take time to
learn a little of this history. Every time I read more I am in awe.
Check out the writings of Harriet Jacobs, and change your point of
view on what slavery was. read the Biography of Harriet Tubman and
learn aboot selflessness. Read aboot, MLK, Booker T Washington,
Bessie Coleman, Jesse Owens, and many more. Do not discount your
knowledge by assuming you know these persons' stories. Movies lie,
TV caption-izes and Teachers bend the stories sometimes to fit the
lesson. I like reading their own words. That way I may get to know
them for real.
Oh, and come see my play!
Runs weekly through March 10
Tuesday February 28 - 7:00 p.m. show free to the public
Saturday February the 11th - 11:00 a.m. $7 a person
www.interactivetheater.org
Also, if you want , check out the knew Photo Album on my Company
(Sploosh'sDayJerb upper right
panel))