56th in a series of posts on Touchstone Theatre
After that discussion of “place” in Bethlehem, Sharon Brown guided the denizens of Godfrey Daniels after the Festival UnBound’s “Poets, Troubadours, and Troublemakers” performance to the topic of “race” with this startling statement:
“There’s not really a place where people of color who look like me gather in this town.”
- “It’s important to have a presence.”
- “If you don’t have a presence, you can’t make a change, and nobody is going to invite you to the table to have a conversation.”
- I’m continuing to think about as we look into the future how do we engage and make our world a truly more inclusive community.”
- “How do I and others and other allies help to get folks to develop a critical consciousness, so that when you are doing a program you are making sure that you are including The Other and whoever that Other is at the table in the performance.”
- “We have to do better.”
- “After being here all these years, it is still a majority community governed by majority people, and all the Arts are still majority dominated and don’t engage other voices to be at the table.”
- “It’s as though there’s this invisibility that occurs.”
- “Where are the people who look like me?”
- “Since we have this conversation, remember that there is a level of invisibility that exists throughout the entire Lehigh Valley but especially in Bethlehem no matter what side you are on.”
The audience went quiet for a bit, as if in thought.
Festival UnBound
Closed but never forgotten
