Staying Power: Concrete, Not Wood a Multigenre Production by Ypsilanti & Richmond Youth Artists
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Staying Power: Concrete, Not Wood A Multigenre Production by Ypsilanti & Richmond Youth Artists 2019 1 © Red Beard Press, 2019. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-0-9969707-8-5 No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recorded, or photocopying form without written permission of the author or Red Beard Press. This book may be purchased by visiting www.neutral-zone.org/shop-1 or by contacting Literary Arts Program Manager Molly Raynor at [email protected]. PHOTOGRAPHY — Jamie Chiu COVER DESIGN — Mia Shin BOOK DESIGN — Nikka Wolfenbarger GRAPHIC DESIGN — Mia Shin and Zachary Barrett STAFF — Karley Misek, Naima Peterson, Tariq Peterson, Elinam Agbo, Sonya Carter SUPPORT from Literary Arts Program Manager Molly Raynor, and Neutral Zone Literary Arts Program Founder Jeff Kass RED BEARD PRESS FOUNDING STAFF ADVISOR — Karen Smyte 2 Housing corporations and real estate agents refer to their building projects and marketing campaigns through the language of urban homesteading, colonizing, and being on “the new frontier.” —from interviewer Cassandra Troyan 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Artistic Director & Dramaturg: Donté Clark Ypsi Artistic Leaders: Samuel Martin, Sakinah & Zakiyyah Rahman Richmond Artistic Leader: Ciera-Jevae Gordon Historical Dramaturg: Matthew Siegfried Script Support: Maria Theocharakis, Nadia Mota SPONSORS National Endowment for the Arts University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers Program J. Ferrantino Foundation Kass Family Foundation Ann Arbor State Bank Merton and Regina Allen Memorial Fund Michigan Council For Arts & Cultural Affairs Ozone House RYSE Center Riverside Arts Center Defend Affordable Ypsi Ypsilanti Community High School Ypsilanti Library Growing Hope 4 CONTENTS Opening Remarks // 6 Act I // 10 “The 1st” Act II // 42 “The 15th” Act III // 62 “The 30th” 5 6 Opening Remarks for Staying Power: Concrete, Not Wood Dec 7th, 2019 By Ciera-Jevae Gordon and Donté Clark Good evening and welcome to “Staying Power: Concrete, Not Wood!” hosted by Neutral Zone in partnership with Ozone House and the RYSE Center. My name is Ciera-Jevae Gordon, and I have the pleasure of having served as a Staying Power Fellow, Richmond, Ca’s Poet Laureate, and currently serve as the Media, Arts, and Culture Manager at the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond, Ca. Let us first begin by acknowledging that we are on stolen land of the Anishinabek and Wyandot people, past and present. It is crucial to speak of our Indigenous community in present tense. They are still here, and still fighting amongst us, as we are here fighting with them. We hold holy their culture and language as a guiding factor as we navigate the painful yet joyful livelihoods of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people. With that said, there is nothing more fitting than the title of this production, “Staying Power: Concrete, Not Wood.” This is not just a performance, but a call to action. Here, we are centering those native to this community, native to this land. Here we are calling on all that call this place home to reflect, listen, and sit in any discomfort you may feel. We like to call on this notion of knowing the difference between feeling unsafe, and feeling uncomfortable. We know because of history and the present, that folks of color have disportpostionally been unsafe in almost all spaces compared to our white and or wealthy counterparts. We invite all into the space, but ask that you join us in centering those closest to the pain, grief, 7 and displacement. Those descendants of Indigeous folx, of African slaves, of asylum seekers. If you feel uncomfortable during the show, I invite you to acknowledge it within yourself, and make time for intentional self inquiry. To ground us in this show I want to give background of the title of Staying Power and how it inspired this work. Staying Power, a fellowship in Richmond, Ca created in 2017, was an arts, policy, and participatory action research fellowship coordinated by four California organizations that worked to tackle different causes of gentrification within our beloved Richmond, Ca. A notable win was creating a bi-ligual Know Your Rights Mural that educated community members of their rights around housing, eviction, and more. All of this work inspired young people in Richmond to write a production entitled “Youthtopia: In the Face of Gentrification,” to share their lived experiences with the entire community. They further highlighted the fact that gentrification is not just about housing. It is about belonging. Within our schools, our youth centers, our families and our greater community. They talked about how police brutality is a symptom of gentrification, a format of pushing out and murdering our Black, Brown, and Indigenous youth. Thus, tonight we are here to further embark on this journey of land, honor, ancestors, and community. Many Richmond youth found writing and performance through R.A.W. Talent (Richmond Artist With Talent). R.A.W. Talent was a spoken word organization founded by Molly Raynor, and Donte Clark, as a movement of healing through writing and performance by Richmond youth. Donte, the Artistic Director of the production you are all about to witness, became not only a spoken word artist, but an author, a playwright, and much more. He had the opportunity to visit Ypsi two years ago while touring for his documentary Romeo is Bleeding, 8 (on Netflix) and loved Ypsi. Soon after he, along with Molly, started to dream up what a collaboration between Richmond and Ypsilanti could be. That is what we will be witnessing tonight! The title, “Concrete, Not Wood,” comes from an Oakland native artist who created a skate park in the heart of Oakland. He shared with us that it was important to use concrete, not wood, because wood eventually fades, but concrete stays. While wood is decomposable, unable to last, easy to rot in rough conditions, concrete is forever, and so is the power of our youth. Both cities are connected across the country through our collective rage and our fight for liberation of people of color and our cities. We are so excited to bring this show to you tonight in hopes that it will continue to spark an intergenerational revolution to one day take hold of the world we have always dreamt about. Here we are, holding all this power, and we choose to STAY. Before this production begins, I offer this trigger warning to note that there will be difficult moments throughout this production. I offer you all a reminder to take care of yourself. If at any moment something is too heavy for you, please feel free to take space outside of the room. This show will touch of real painful realities of our community, and we ask that you do what you need in order to heal yourself, and be in community with us. I leave you with this word from the Anishinabek and Wyandot people. The word is Anishanabe, meaning original person. We leave you with original stories. We continue with the power of our original people. Anishanabe. We are here to STAY. / We are fighting to STAY. 9 10 Act I // “The 1st” “I have seen a neighborhood eat itself for dinner.” —from poem “Gentrification,” by Dion Harrison and Kenny Carrol 11 Lights up on Zakiyyah, Sakinah and Samuel, front and center stage. Ypsi Really Sold Out. Zakiyyah: Ypsi celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day Yet sells native burial ground to developers You Probably Seen It Wants to keep the Black culture But remove the Black people Black culture Valued Black bodies Not Black bodies lower real estate value And Black homes real at stake Black homies real at stake For the sake of value Sake of business Sake of city Sake of Ypsi You Probably Seen It Google will tell you “1825 the city of Ypsilanti was established” History tells you 1825 the city of Ypsilanti was officially colonized Officially gentrified When they steal land They take power When they take power They take security When they take security They take home 1825 it was named Godfroy’s Trading House Before that it was something else Someone else’s home Some people’s land 12 Land Equals power Land builds power And if you stay You have that power Zakiyyah, Sakinah and Samuel break out into a step. Sam: Only if you can keep it You see the conquerors took this land Stripped and gentrified the grounds that we possess That we merit and proclaim patriotic They used to be Indigenous Tales of a culture Names, voices, that remain silent Ancestors buried beneath concrete and dirt That whisper We belong here These streets are about power Land named and renamed Bought and sold Names that come and go People bought and sold These streets are about power Broken beaten bodies beneath poverty That sectioned off property THESE STREETS ALL ABOUT POWER And this is cemented in the politics Sam: Cement Zakiyyah: Submit to stone Sam: Gravel Sakinah: Gravesites 13 The flower beds of the ghetto They beautify this city Call it community gardening The hearts that hardened Plant those seeds And we reap the loss Our garden That grows—in numbers Our garden That’s loved—by numbers Our Garden Underground Now covered Stomped on Stomp Played on Stomp Forgotten Our history Forgotten Prospect Park Built on bodies that look like mine If they could predict the prospect Of where their bodies would be parked I wonder if they would choose to lay to rest there I wonder if they were seen as prospects As contributors of this city Were their contributions even recognized Or were they only recognized For what they contributed to the ground Six feet deep The Godfroys, First white family to own property in Ypsi, Get street names and profits that run Six figures deep 14 White bodies That owned Black bodies like mine That ran Black bodies That ran Black bodies out That dropped Black bodies For six generations And for six generations ‘til present We reap the impact And the dirt Let it bury us Let them bury us Watch them play on our graves Dance All: Ypsi really sold out Stomp // Lights up on set (daytime).