#then I went to a PWI liberal arts college where most people were rich and from california or new york or some other blue state

[rookfern]

sometimes I like to dream about a world that does not immediately mark me as less intelligent for my accent

[toomanyemotes]

Racism & You 101: An interview with Morgan Stevenson about her play ‘If We Don’t Get It--Shut It Down: A play about the Baltimore Uprising’

Let’s be honest: The Baltimore Uprising came and went with only minor changes being done to the communities it affected. As attention on us (Baltimore)  wavered so did the consistency for budding projects in the city to progress and change.

So all in all, things were started, stuff was said, plans were made and put into motion but by July 2015; majority of these organizations all but disappeared. As a result of this, many citizens in impoverished communities such as Sandtown or Upton, have all but lost hope in this slow progression.

This doesn’t negate the fact that people are still facing the same bullshit they did last year and years prior.

Ironically enough, these are the same issues that 21 year old playwright Morgan Stevenson plans to address in her play ‘If We Don’t Get it--Shut It Down’.

“When people leave the show I hope that they think this shit is real regardless.”

Of course by ‘shit’, she means all the bullshit that happens to people of color on the daily.  As a Baltimore native, graduate of a PWI in a mostly gentrified area, and an overall black woman; she understands the need for representation everywhere.

Her work delves deep into the height of the Baltimore uprising, thoughts of the activists who were there and presents questions of what needs to still be done.

“I did it based on interview questions where I had most of my subjects reflect on when they were first on the ground, what they remember doing at or exact the time Freddie Grey was killed and where they remember being at the height of the Uprising.”

As much of the coverage on the uprising was given from a scared white man’s perspective, Morgan’s unique style of storytelling gives life to the words from many youth activists in Baltimore.

“I felt it was important to capture the now,” she expressed honestly. “Not much has changed despite the uprising happening. An uprising usually indicates a shift in political climate but we just went back to where we were.”

While there are an impressive amount of grassroots organizations focused on social change, Morgan chose mostly youth activists because they are the ones ‘sacrificing the most’. “95% of the people I interviews are Baltimore youth activists. It’s their story. They are the ones missing school, missing cutting up with their friends because they're doing this really tiring work.” Along with actual clips from her interviews, the show also features a panel afterwards with many of the same people. “[Having] the panelists in itself sets up a space where we can have these conversations with these young people that are actually doing work and can educate us on how to take the tools they use to implement them in our own lifestyles.” This project, like most things in life, wasn’t immune to bullshit trying to throw it off course. From funding and locations to atypical PWI diversity tactics (1 black kid per every 300 white kids), this play had a rough ass start.

“My school didn’t really fund me the way I hoped. I asked for four thousand and that budget included transportation for my panelists, some of which were minors, and etc. They wound up giving me less than half of that.”

“I was trying to figure out whether it was because of the fact [the play] was racially charged and people were out to get me or it was some administrative issue. I’ve come to the conclusion it was probably both.” So she said ‘fuck it’ and moved it to the Harlem Repertory Theatre, a historically black neighborhood in NYC. It not only made literal sense as the play was for and about the plight of people of color but also ethically speaking. As her school attempted to require the recorded version of her play, she feared that it was going to be used for bullshit diversity tactics at her college. That shit obviously didn’t fly because she didn’t “want them potentially capitalizing off it” without the school being “transparent” to the fact they didn’t fully endorse it. “It was important to do the show in Harlem, not charging admission, because the people who are affected by this issue the most are the first people who should be seeing it,” she explained. “Not a bunch of ‘liberals’ at a liberal arts college where they have the access of educating themselves, but don’t.” Obviously the word liberal is used very lightly as a large percentage of those who claim to be ‘woke’ are actually very much asleep. Despite potential setbacks and discrepancies, Morgan hopes to keep moving forward with her education, tour her show and create new possibilities for those who do not have the same access to the same resources. “ My long term career goal is to be an educator outside public school education. I feel like the system is kind of flawed and I don’t want to be a part of that.”

She feels that not only is the system flawed but it fails to “acknowledge the identities” and “rich cultures” within New York City.

“I would like to have my own community organization focused in the arts with school age children but aside from that, as a theatre director, I plan to only produce socially conscious theater.” Like most people, her power stems from her unique circumstances and is a force for change both locally and outside the community. “[People of color] aren’t reflected in mainstream theatre on Broadway. We aren’t reflected in Off Broadway. My purpose as a director is to educate and reflect my experience as a black woman and as a low income black woman.” “As far as [her play], it is definitely nowhere near done. I’d like to go back to all my interview subjects and update it especially since the trials have begun. It’s just a matter of money and space right now.”