tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6731242543254491491.post2364997804491800982..comments2023-12-20T17:20:22.032-05:00Comments on 99 Seats: On Casting, Inclusion and All The Rest99http://www.blogger.com/profile/11955916620902994495noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6731242543254491491.post-58137769714508046302010-02-04T09:04:47.926-05:002010-02-04T09:04:47.926-05:00Beverly Tatum, in "Why Are All the Black Kids...Beverly Tatum, in "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?," draws a distinction between "racism" and "prejudice." Racism is systemic, prejudice is individual. It is completely possible to be lacking in prejudice and still benefit from a racist system. This relates to the "intent" argument, and also to the "no good black actors showed up" argument. <br /><br />You make a good parallel between theatres and early baseball (and also basketball -- see Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's excellent "On the Shoulders of Giants" and his story of the Harlem Rens basketball team). What is ironic is that if you look at, say, the Negro League in baseball, the fact is that those players were better than those in the white league. When integration occurred, it occurred through the integration of the less talented members of the Negro League -- August Wilson writes about this in "Fences." Which brings us to the issue of money and fame, the twin towers of American society. <br /><br />This is a discussion that has been occuring at least since W E B DuBois and Marcus Garvey squared off in the early part of the 20th century. DuBois wanted integration, Garvey wanted a separate economy (and nation). Both visions were powerful, and both were successful. In fact, Garvey was by far the most powerful African-American leader of that era -- although you wouldn't know it by reading the history books. <br /><br />So here's my question: what is best for the art? Integration or separation? Wilson, who was a Garvey-ite, thought separation -- "The Ground on Which I Stand" calls for more funding for African-American theatres. Others -- you, it seems -- are for integration. So: if black theatres were funded at the same level as the major white theatres, would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Or is this a both thing: we want well-funded African-American theatres AND we want to work in well-funded White theatres. Right now, it seems like an ethnic version of "Whack a Mole"...Scott Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06465161646609405658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6731242543254491491.post-54856107772503691772010-02-04T01:30:31.700-05:002010-02-04T01:30:31.700-05:00I respond over on my blog. I wish I knew how to do...I respond over on my blog. I wish I knew how to do trackbacks on Blogspot, since it would help me find who's saying what.RVCBardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481089855894764409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6731242543254491491.post-44268306787814732122010-02-03T21:41:14.617-05:002010-02-03T21:41:14.617-05:00I concur.I concur.Tony Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02141675073979325374noreply@blogger.com