Race And Understanding In Prince George’s
Meet The Cast And Crew of “Out Of The Vineyard”. here
Arts & Culture Analysis: Why ‘Vineyard’ and ‘Freedom’ Are Required Works For All Prince Georgians
By Raoul Dennis
Joe’s Movement Emporium Founder and Executive Director Brooke Kidd with former student Leo
Normally, Brooke Kidd, founder and executive director of Joe’s Movement Emporium is making sure that little ones are learning how to properly hold third position in dance class or experiencing new cultural dance forms from around the world. She has dedicated a very good portion of her life to teaching life lessons from her corner of the world in Mt. Rainier.
But this project was of a different kind altogether.
“Discussions about race are incredibly charged right now in our country, even weaponized in some communities. A performance provides a pathway to open up productive conversations,” she says.
This is part of what went into her decision to commission playwright Psalmayene 24, a young, talented African American writer, to adapt the book “A Question Of Freedom” for the stage. Psalmayene 24, or Psalm, saw the same thing Brooke did.
“This play has really driven home that point that even if we can't necessarily trace our history, that chain is unbroken, we're still connected to our ancestors in a very powerful way.” [click Interview with Playwright Psalm for the full interview below]
The man who set the process in motion had come to that conclusion nearly a decade ago when he couldn’t stop researching the information that inextricably tied his ancestry to the slaveholding business in Prince George’s County some 300 years ago.
“Part of the story here and part of the book is I want to bring the reader, I want to bring you along on my journey to reckon with that,” says “A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War (November 2020,” Author William G. Thomas III. “The play is really about how do the descendants of all of this history, including me, reckon with that history right now, today? I think this is really inspiring because it's not so much about the history as it is about how we think about that history today? What does it mean to us? How can we build a future together?” [click Interview with Author William Thomas III to hear the full interview below]
What these revelations offer only begins at the recognition that Americans are all connected to one another culturally, historically and to even deeper biological levels that tend to be overlooked, forgotten and lately – covered up. Like Siamese twins, one cannot completely act without the other because of the vital social and historic shared “organs” that can’t be severed. Instead, Kidd, Psalm and Thomas rightly call out that the better option is to run toward one another and not away from shared origins, histories, tragedies and triumphs.
“A Question Of Freedom” Author William G. Thomas III
“Let's not reduce people to sound bites that you hear on the radio or short clips on TV, or snippets in film,” Psalm says. “It’s really about getting back to the human experience of just talking. That's another thing that really stood out about this process is that everyone has an amazing story. You just have to talk to somebody and get to what their story is. And you have to be open to hearing it.”
The choice to receive what someone else is offering is perhaps the most critical part of growth in human relationships. “Psalm’s writing invites people to look at the hard stuff without alienating folks,” Kidd says. “I know that the arts have an important role to play in repairing divides in communities. One amazing thing is happening: young Black audience members are telling me they really want to know about the history of slavery and how it impacts us today. They are connecting the dots of history, policy, and people.”
Kidd’s observation is another critical contribution to the immeasurable importance Thomas’ writing brings to all Prince Georgians. Slave suits demonstrate that black Prince Georgians fought for their freedom in many ways – including the use of legal efforts largely unheard of today. They also demonstrate that there were white Marylanders who recognized the voices and legal arguments of people of African descent and respected their right to freedom. Slavery was a time of great disparity and brutality --- but black people didn’t always lose (as is too often displayed in popular historical accounts) and white people weren’t always brutalizers. There is more to being a Prince Georgian than most of us have ever known.
Every American should peel back the layers of the stories handed down—and question the details, talk about the realities, challenge the lies. But if nothing else, every Prince Georgian should dine at the table that “A Question of Freedom” has set and enjoy the dazzling dessert that “Out of The Vineyard” allows us to explore. Those post-meal conversations on that front porch will be perpetual and fruitful beyond measure.
