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JAN 24 FEB 24 TEACHER STUDY GUIDE Written and Researched by Taylor M. Wycoff

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This Study Guide contains a variety of resource material to accommodate different classes and levels. Teachers need not use all the material found here but should choose the most appropriate materials given their current curriculum. Topics may be used separately or in any combination that works for you.

Table of Contents page(s) About the Play………………………………………………………………………………………….…………3 Play Synopsis………………………………………………………………………………………….…….3 Characters and the Significance of Names………………………………………………………….…..4 Important Terms……………………………………………………………………………..……..…….…5 Our Production…………………………………………………………………………………………...………6 The Artistic Team…………………………………………………………………………………………...6 The Cast………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…6 From the Artistic Director.……………………………………………………………………………….…6 About the Playwright, .………………………………………………….……………….….…7 Mini-Biography.……………………………………………………………………….…………..…………7 The Four B’s: Wilson’s Influences………………………………………………………………………..8 The Cycle ………………….……………….…………………………………..………….…..9 Music and Spirituality in Gem of the Ocean…………………….……………………………………..…....10 The Middle Passage……………………………………………………………….……….…………………..11 The Underground Railroad…..…………………………………………..………..…………………………..12 Finding Freedom………………..…………………………………………..……….………………….……...13 The Hill District…………………………………………….………………….…………….…………………..14 Theatre Etiquette…………………………………………….……………………….…….…………………...15 Recommended Resources………………………………………………………………………………….….16

Cygnet Theatre Company values the feedback of teachers on the content and format of its Study Guides. We would appreciate your comments on past Study Guides, on this current one, or suggestions on ways to improve future Study Guides. Comments may be directed to Taylor M. Wycoff by email at [email protected].

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About the Play

Set in 1904, when slavery was still a living memory, Gem of the Ocean is the story of drifter Citizen Barlow, who arrives at the home of Aunt Ester in search of asylum and spiritual redemption. At 287 years old, Aunt Ester guides Barlow on a soaring, lyrical journey of self-discovery to the mythical City of Bones. Once there, Barlow finds absolution and makes a startling discovery of faith that moves him to act beyond the boundaries of his conscience.

Plot Synopsis It is 1904 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, and many former slaves from the Southern states have migrated north looking for jobs. But when Citizen Barlow, a young man fleeing oppression in Alabama, takes a job in a Pittsburgh mill, he’s exploited and again driven to commit a crime. He seeks redemption from one resident of the Hill, 287-year-old Aunt Ester, who possesses the spiritual knowledge of Africa and the wisdom of the ages. Her house is guarded by Eli and Solly, who are two friends from the Underground Railroad, and Black Mary, Aunt Ester’s housekeeper. When Caesar, Black Mary’s brother and the local constable, accuses a worker of stealing a bucket of nails, rather than face false accusations the worker drowns himself, inciting his coworkers to go on strike. Shortly after, Citizen admits that he was the one who stole the bucket of nails and caused the innocent man’s death, and Eli announces that someone has set fire to the mill. Eli, Solly, and Black Mary help conduct a symbolic journey to the “City of Bones,” the resting place for slaves who perished along the Middle Passage from Africa to America. Aunt Ester folds a bill of sale into a paper boat, explaining that it is the Gem of the Ocean, the ship that will take Citizen to the City of Bones. When Citizen confesses to his crime and they celebrate his rebirth, Caesar interrupts to arrest Solly for setting the fire. After Solly runs, Aunt Ester unfolds the bill of sale revealing that it is the receipt for her sale as a slave. She asks Caesar how the law can always be right if the law made her a slave. He answers by showing her a warrant and arrests her for aiding Solly in his escape. She is released on bond, but Caesar shoots Solly when Solly turns back to try and free the workers in jail. Citizen puts on Solly’s clothes and sets out on his own.

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Characters (and the significance of names)

ELI: Aunt Ester’s gatekeeper and longtime friend of Solly *Eli is the name of an Old Testament Priest and mentor to young Samuel. As such, he is steady, reliable, and maintains peace in the house. CITIZEN BARLOW: a young man from Alabama who is in spiritual turmoil *Citizen’s mother named him “after freedom came.” But Solly Two Kings reminds him that to truly be a Citizen, he’ll have to fight to uphold freedom when it becomes a heavy load.

AUNT ESTER TYLER: a very old, yet vital spiritual advisor for the community *Aunt Ester, whose name sounds like the word “ancestor” is the key connector between the African past and the African American present. Her name also suggests Easter, the holiest day of the Christian calendar and thus conveys a strong sense of spirituality within her, as well as the biblical character Esther (Ahasureus’ queen and the heroine of Purim, a Jewish holiday, which celebrates the saving of the Hebrew people.) BLACK MARY: Aunt Ester’s protégé and housekeeper *Black Mary serves Aunt Ester and washes her feet in a ritual “reminiscent of the self-abasement of Mary, sister of Martha, at Bethany during the last days of Christ.” (McCabe, 2003) RUTHERFORD SELIG: a traveling peddler who is a frequent visitor of the house *In German, “selig” means “blessed.”

SOLLY TWO KINGS: suitor to Aunt Ester, former Underground Railroad conductor *Solly’s earlier name was Uncle Alfred, but after slavery he changed his name to David and Solomon, two Biblical kings. David, meaning “Friend” or “beloved” was known as a warrior when he defeated the giant Goliath. After Saul’s death, David became king and conquered the city of Jerusalem. Soloman, the son of David, whose name means “peaceful” was known for his wisdom and wealth. He expanded his father’s kingdom which resulted in peace on all the borders. CAESAR: Black Mary brother and local constable *Caesar’s name means “dictator” or “autocrat, originating from the original Roman emperor, Julius Caesar.

[Did you know… Prior to the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, the vast majority of African- Americans in the United States were enslaved. During that time, slave’s names were assigned by their owners. Some bore their masters’ surnames, whiles others received a name based on what kind of work they were forced to do. (For example, some African-Americans had last names such as Cotton, reflecting the time when they were made to pick cotton as slaves). After abolition, many slaves like Solly chose new names for themselves and their children. They often took these names from the Bible, from their own family history, or from famous people they admired. Some names, such as “Liberty,” (or Citizen) were chosen to celebrate their new freedom.]

Works Cited McCabe, M. (2003). Student Guide for Gem of the Ocean. Chicago: .

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Important Terms

Aiding and abetting: Assisting someone in committing a crime.

Billy club: A short, wooden club carried by a policeman.

Bondage: The condition of being enslaved.

Clodhoppers: Big, heavy shoes. This word implies that the wearer is unsophisticated or a country bumpkin.

Consumption: Tuberculosis, a serious infectious disease of the lungs.

County farm: Slang, referring to prison, especially one in which the prisoners perform outdoor labor.

General Grant: Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885). A Civil War general made commander-in-chief of the Union army in 1864. He served two terms as the 18th President of the United States.

Ham hock: The lower portion of a pig’s hind leg, usually smoked or cured and often used to flavor soups or beans. Lt. General Grant at City Point, June 1864

Hoecake: A thin cake made of cornmeal.

Opelika, Alabama: A small town in eastern Alabama, Moonshine: Illegally distilled, homemade whiskey. about 5 miles from Auburn. After the Civil War, the

area was economically devastated.

Samson: In the Old Testament Book of Judges, he was known for his extraordinary strength. God had instructed him never to cut his hair, and when Delilah betrayed him and cut off his hair, he lost his strength.

Smote: Past tense of the verb “to smite,” meaning to strike or to inflict a heavy blow.

W.C. Bryant: (1794-1878) An American poet, critic and editor who also studied law. He advocated many reforms, including abolition. He was the editor and part-owner of the New York Evening Post from 1829-

W.C. Bryant writing 1878.

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Our Production

The Artistic Team From the Artistic Director

Director…………………………..………...…Victor Mack When I asked what made Cygnet’s Artistic Director, Co-Director…………………………..….….Sean Murray Sean Murray want to produce Gem of the Ocean this Stage Manager…………………….Jennifer Kozumplik* season, he recounted the runs of and The Piano Scenic Designer…………………………...…..Andy Hull Lesson in previous seasons. During both productions, Costume Designer …………………….Shelly Williams Cygnet co-produced a series of staged readings of the Lighting Designer…………………………..Chris Rynne other titles in the ten play cycle (one play for every Sound Designer…………………………Kevin Anthenill th Properties Designer…………………Angelica Ynfante° decade of the 20 century chronicling the African Wig & Makeup Designer……………...Peter Herman° American experience), leading Murray to confess that he Dramaturg…………………………….……Taylor Wycoff was “introduced to some of the greatest plays written in Production Manager………………..……..Jenn Stauffer the Twentieth Century. You can’t argue with gorgeously Technical Director……………….……Rogelio Rosales written theatre with language that sings and characters Master Electrician……………………….… Raf Vallejo that seem to breathe real breath.” Scenic Painter………..……Jessica Harriman-Baxter° Wardrobe…………………………..….Jacinda Johnston For Murray, Wilson’s use of language is Shakespearean The Cast in its beauty and musicality; his characters are fully realized and recognizable; the plays are specific to Eli…………………………….…… Grandison Phelps III particular people, time and place while maintaining Citizen Barlow………………..……….Laurence Brown universal messages that everyone can relate to. As he Aunt Ester Tyler………………………. Brenda Phillips* put it, “Wilson’s plays are examples of storytelling at its Black Mary…………………………..…. Melva Graham Rutherford Selig………………………Ron Choularton* finest.” Solly Two Kings…………………Antonio “TJ” Johnson Gem of the Ocean is the first chronological play in the Caesar Wilks…………….……..Mujahid Abdul-Rashid* Citizen U/S, Caesar U/S………………Leonard Patton ten play cycle, setting the spiritual arc for the entire series. Murray felt that “if we were to continue to produce other titles, we might as well start at the beginning with Aunt Ester.” This particular play deals *Member of Actors Equity Association, °Cygnet Resident Artist with a spiritual element that is profound.

Ultimately it is about the moment when a person reaches deep inside to fully accept themselves and love themselves in order to allow the Universe to begin to open for them. As Murray described, “Gem is about owning one’s destiny, accepting responsibility for the world in which they find themselves, facing one’s self on a deep level to forgive in order to move on, and connecting with one’s past as a means of building the present towards the future that provides.”

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About the Playwright, August Wilson

Frederick August Kittel was born on April 27, 1945, and grew up in a cold-water flat in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. His mother, Daisy Wilson, came from an African American family that had migrated from North Carolina, and his father, Frederick Kittel, was a baker who had immigrated from Germany. With his father mostly estranged during his upbringing, Wilson cemented his cultural loyalty by taking his mother’s name at age 20, becoming August Wilson.

At the age of four, his mother taught him to read, and a year later he got his first library card from the Hill District branch library. His devotion to the library would prove to be incredibly significant—after transferring to three different high schools and being accused of plagiarizing a 20-page paper on Napoleon, Wilson dropped out of school and went on to educate himself at the Oakland District’s Carnegie Library. In 1999, after achieving international fame, the Carnegie Library awarded Wilson its first and only high school diploma.

Wilson had a brief stint in the U.S. Army and worked a few odd jobs before he purchased his first typewriter in 1965 and began to write poetry. In the late 1960s, he became part of a group of poets, educators and artists who formed the Centre Avenue Poets Theatre Workshop. In 1968, fired by the Black Nationalist movement, he and playwright Rob Penny founded Black Horizon Theatre. Ten years later, at the invitation of friend Claude Purdy, Wilson moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and became a company member of the Penumbra Theatre. Shortly after, he won a fellowship at the Minneapolis Playwrights Center.

By 1982, his first play, , was staged by Allegheny Repertory Theatre in Pittsburgh. That same year, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was accepted by the National Playwrights Conference at O’Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut. When Wilson went to Connecticut to workshop the play, he met Lloyd Richards, dean of the prestigious Yale University School of Drama and Artistic Director of the Yale Repertory Theatre. Richards went on to direct Wilson’s first six plays on Broadway.

Wilson is best known for his 10-play cycle covering every decade of the twentieth century. Known as either the Pittsburgh Cycle or the Century Cycle, the plays chronicle the African American experience in the 20th century, and all but one-Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom-are set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. His work has garnered numerous awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes (Fences and ) and a Tony Award (Fences).

Source: http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/aacc_pdfs/AugustWilsonBioSketch.pdf

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The Four B’s: Wilson’s Influences

Wilson liked to say his work was inspired by the four B’s: Writers Amiri Baraka and Jorge Luis Borges, painter Romare Bearden, and the Blues. Below, read how these four “B’s” influenced his writing.

BARAKA “My interest in Baraka comes from the sixties and the Black Power movement. So it’s more for Baraka’s political ideas, which I loved and still am an exponent of. […] He had an influence on my thinking. [His] poetry in particular.” –Wilson on Amiri Baraka in an interview with The Believer (Source: www.believermag.com/issues/200411/?read=interview_wilson)

BORGES “I am fascinated by the way Jorge Luis Borges, the short story writer, tells a story. I’ve been trying to write a play the way he writes a story. He tells you exactly what is going to happen, even though the outcome seems improbable […] And he proceeds to tell the story, and it seems like it’s never going to happen. And you look up, without even knowing, and there it is.” –Wilson on the Argentine short-story writer, Jorge Luis Borges (Source: http://rutgersblackdrama.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/august-wilsons-4-bs-part-1- borges)

BEARDEN “What I saw was black life, presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness, in a language that was vibrant and which, made attendant to everyday life, ennobled it, affirmed its value, and exalted its presence… It defined not only the character of black American life, but also its conscience.” - Wilson on artist Romare Bearden (Source: http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/)

THE BLUES “My greatest influence has been the blues. And that’s a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have. […] Blues is the bedrock of everything I do. All the characters in my plays, their ideas and their attitudes, the stance that they adopt in the world, are all ideas and attitudes that are expressed in the blues.” –Wilson on the blues in an interview with The Believer (Source: www.believermag.com/issues/200411/?read=interview_wilson)

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The Pittsburgh Cycle

1900s: Gem of the Ocean (Set in 1904, Premiered in New York in 2004) Solly Two Kings, a former slave and Underground Railroad operator, and Citizen Barlow, a young Southern man looking for a new life, seek Sanctuary at 1839 Wylie Avenue, a house belonging to Aunt Ester, the 287-year-old matriarch of August Wilson’s world. 1910s: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Set in 1911, premiered in New York in 1988) Seth and Bertha Holly’s boarding house is a temporary haven for African Americans moving to the North. Some are trying to find a new life, or in the case of Harold Loomis, in search of family members lost under the oppression of sharecropping and chain gangs. 1920s: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Set in Chicago in 1927, premiered in New York in 1984) While the white agent and studio boss wait for blues star Ma Rainey to show up for her recording date, the four black musicians in her band rehearse, bicker, tell stories and dream. 1930s: The Piano Lesson (Set in 1936, premiered in New York in 1990) The most precious possession of the Charles family is an upright piano. When they were slaves, a Charles child was traded for it and the child’s father carved his grief on it in scenes of family history. Years later, his descendants reclaimed the piano. Now it is the focal point in a struggle between their descendants over how to use this painful legacy. 1940s: (Set in 1948, premiered in New York in 1996) Floyd Barton is a natural musician who dreams of the big time. Just as the play begins, his wife and friends mourn his death and explore his story. This is the only August Wilson play told in flashback form. 1950s: Fences (Set in 1957-58 and 1963, premiered in New York in 1987) The most popular play of the cycle, and a moneymaker on Broadway, is often compared with Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Troy Maxson was a Negro League baseball star who spent many years in jail; now he’s a trash collector fighting for blacks to be allowed to drive as well as haul. 1960s: (Set in 1969, premiered in New York in 1992) In the aftermath of the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King and in the heyday of black power, a boastful young man named Sterling arrives at Memphis’ diner to learn his way around the Hill, the community struggles against urban renewal, and the individual citizens’ fight for what is rightly theirs. 1970s: Jitney (Set in 1977, premiered in New York in 1982, rewritten and premiered in 2000) Out of a jitney station in the Hill, Becker and four other men hustle to make a living. In between calls, they gossip and bicker with each other. 1980s: King Hedley II (Set in 1985, premiered in New York in 2001) Hedley, who was named King by his father, the strange West Indian in Seven Guitars, is a tragic figure of great stature. In this darkest Wilson play, Hedley struggles to earn respect. 1990s: (Set in 1997, premiered in New York in 2005) In this first play set among the black bourgeoisie, Harmond Wilks is running for mayor and planning a bold redevelopment deal for the Hill District. At particular issue are the relationships among race, class, and cultural identity, as well as is 1839 Wylie, the old house that was once Aunt Ester’s.

Source: http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/aacc_pdfs/AugustWilsonPlaysChart.pdf

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Music and Spirituality in Gem of the Ocean Music is a powerful source of hope, expression, and unity. It can inspire revolution or calm a broken heart. All of August Wilson’s plays incorporate music and Gem of the Ocean continues that use specifically with spirituals. In Gem of the Ocean, music, specifically the spiritual, is used not only for its emotive power, but also as a cultural link to the characters. Spirituals are the folk songs of the South that originated from sorrow songs sung by African slaves. The songs have been passed down by word of mouth for generations, and as a result many songs have several versions and the composers of the songs remain unknown to this day. Many of the sounds associated with spirituals come directly from African religious songs; their only instruments were drums and their voices. Stylistically, spirituals are typically characterized by syncopation, polyrhythmic structure, and pentatonic scale. Upon arriving in the colonies, however, the drums and singing in native languages were prohibited by slave owners out of fear that this practice might incite rebellion. Thus, in an effort to hold on to their roots, the slaves began to use the tone and rhythm of their homelands with lyrics expressing the hardships of their everyday lives. Most spirituals carried a double meaning; they expressed a desire for spiritual salvation while also manifesting the anger, fear and frustration of a slave’s life. The majority of their spirituals were based upon characters and stories from the Bible. One well known Negro spiritual, “Wade in the Water,” relates to both the Old and New Testaments. The verses reflect the Israelites’ escape out of Egypt as found in Exodus:14, and the chorus refers to healing, possibly as described The term spiritual is derived in John 5:4, “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and from spiritual song. The troubled the water: whosoever then first after the trouble of the water King James Bible’s stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” Many slaves translation of Ephesians thought of themselves as modern children of Israel and looked for a black 5:19 is: “Speaking to Moses to deliver them from bondage. yourselves in psalms and Until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865 and the African Americans’ hymns and spiritual songs, freedom from slavery, spirituals were not well known outside of the singing and making melody Southern states. In 1867, William Francis Allen and Lucy McKim Garrison in your heart to the Lord.” published a collection of spirituals called Slave Songs. In an effort to raise Negro spiritual first appears funds in support of their institution, Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in print in the 1860s, where (one of the first universities for African Americans), some educators and slaves are described as using students of the school toured Europe and the New World, singing Negro spirituals for religious songs spirituals. sung sitting or standing in place. Before and during the rallies of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, demonstrators would sing Negro spirituals such as “We Shall Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine.” In the past twenty years, African American music has returned to the spiritual in a modern form—rap and hip-hop. The “call and response,” the rhythmic use of the voice as an instrument, and the frustration with society and the environment are all present.

Lomax, A. (1975). The Folk Songs of North America. Garden City, NY: Dophin Books, 1975.

McCabe, M. (2003). Student Guide for Gem of the Ocean. Chicago: Goodman Theatre.

World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1972.

“History.” Negro Spirituals. 2012. Web. 11 December. 2012. www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm.

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The Middle Passage

The people made a kingdom out of nothing. They were the people that didn’t make it across the water. They sat down right there. They say “Let’s make a kingdom. Let’s make a City of Bones.” –Aunt Ester, Gem of the Ocean

In Gem of the Ocean, Aunt Ester takes Citizen Barlow on a trip to the “City of Bones,” a mythical place that memorializes those who died during the Middle Passage—the most destructive aspect of one of the most horrific enterprises in human history: the slave trade. It was so called because it was the second leg of an intercontinental trade network that included, first, movement from Europe to Africa; second, the dispatch of human beings to the colonies in the Americas; and third, return to Europe from the Americas.

In preparation for the trip, people were stripped naked, chained together, and packed like sardines in extremely confined compartments below the deck of the ship. They were then forced to lie down on layers of shelving with little to no room for sitting up straight or moving about. They were literally piled on top of one another in order to maximize the quantity of “human cargo,” and for the next several weeks suffered some of the most inhumane conditions known in human history. Because of the close quarters, diseases such as small pox, dysentery, malaria, and scurvy spread rapidly. Sometimes they suffocated under the weight of other bodies or were ravaged by lice. In addition, female prisoners had to endure sexual abuse and rape. Women and men alike were stripped of their dignity and their humanity. Faced with the nightmarish conditions of the voyage and the unknown future that lay beyond, many Africans preferred to die.

No one knows exactly how many Africans were forced into slavery, but most scholars agree that the number is between 11 and 13 million people. This number does not include those who died on the Middle Passage. Upon reaching the shores of the New World, another round of indignities ensued. Agents inspected their physical conditions and then the slaves were transferred to a warehouse where they were allowed to eat, clean up and rest before being sold on the auction block.

Horton, James Oliver and Horton, Lois E. Hard Road to Freedom: the Story of African America. New Jersey: Rutger University Press, 2001.

Trotter, Jo William, Jr. The African American Experience. Boston: Houghton Miflin Co., 2001.

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The Underground Railroad

I joined the Underground Railroad. Look at that. (shows the walking stick.) That’s 62 notches. That’s 62 people I carried to Freedom. I was looking to make it 63 when Abraham Lincoln came along and changed all that. –Solly Two Kings, Gem of the Ocean

From the moment the first slave ships landed in North America in 1619 and humans were forced into slavery, they started to rebel. Arguably the most well-known slave insurgence was the Underground Railroad, an organized system that helped slaves in the south escape to the North and Canada. It was not run by any single organization or person, but rather consisted of numerous individuals—both white and black—who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives and not the overall operation. Contrary to its name, the Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad; its name was a metaphor. Those on the trip used the railroad’s terminology.

According to one estimate, about 100,000 slaves escaped Terminology from the South using the Railroad between 1810 and Members of the Underground Railroad often used specific jargon, 1850. But the trip was far from easy. Communication based on the metaphor of the railway. between the slaves and their conductors had to be very Agents (or Shepherds)— people who helped slaves find the sneaky. One form of covert communication is claimed to Railroad be “The Underground Quilt.” Because quilts had to be Conductors— guides of the Railroad, responsible for washed and aired out, slaveholders wouldn’t get getting fugitives from one station to the suspicious when there were quilts hanging out to dry on next plantations. Thus they were “hidden in plain view,” each with a secret message for the fugitive slaves (for example, Abductors— free or escaped blacks (and sometimes the “North Star” pattern signaled the runaways to follow whites) that helped guide fugitives the North Star). Another popular belief is that spirituals Stations— Hiding places along the Railroad and other songs like “Steal Away” or “Follow the Drinking Station Masters— people who would hide slaves in their Gourd” contained coded information and helped homes individuals navigate the Railroad. Passengers (or Cargo)— escaped slaves Source: www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html Stock Holders— financial benefactors of the Railroad

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Finding Freedom

It’s hard to be a citizen. You gonna have to fight to get that. And time you get it, you be surprised how heavy it is. –Solly Two Kings, Gem of the Ocean

This illustration appeared in Harper’s Weekly after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The caption reads, “The effects of the proclamation — Freed negroes coming into our lines at Newbern, North Carolina.”

With the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the ratification of the 13thAmedment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, African Americans were freed from slavery and given the rights of citizenship. Yet white people mostly maintained the responsibility of governance in the South, and their greatest concern seemed to be the controlling of former slaves. This was accomplished through a series of laws known as Black Codes. These “codes” created numerous restrictions on African Americans, such as limiting where they could rent or buy property to specific areas. They were forced to work for white employers at low wages, whether they wanted to or not, and non-working African Americans were arrested for vagrancy and heavily penalized. Fines were imposed for such menial actions as insulting speech and gesture, absence from work, and violation of curfew.

As time passed and white Southerners came to the realization that their control was to be weakened by Reconstruction, secret societies such as the Pale Faces and the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan were formed to exert control. Their aim became to establish white supremacy by using illegal and terrorist acts such as intimidation, force, murder and lynching to deprive African Americans of political equality. Believing that conditions for freedom and quality of life would be better in the Northern states, over 400,000 African Americans left the South between the Civil War and World War 1, but their optimism quickly faded. As murder and lynching were used in the South as controlling devices, the Northern whites, who saw the ever-rising African American population with alarm, utilized race riots. White mobs would enter black communities, destroy property and beat, injure or kill the inhabitants, forcing many to flee for their lives.

Finally, in the early 20th century, African American leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois of the Niagara Movement demanded freedom of speech, male suffrage, abolition of distinction based on race, and recognition of principles of human fellowship. In 1910, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded and began a program to widen industrial opportunities for African Americans. The following year, the National Urban League was formed to assist African Americans in adjusting to life in urban centers.

Franklin, John Hope and Moss, Alfred A., Jr. From Slavery to Freedom. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

Trotter, Jo William, Jr. The African American Experience. Boston: Houghton Miflin Co., 2001.

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The Hill District

Pittsburgh’s Hill District began as Farm Number Three, a piece of land owned by a grandson of William Penn. It was later sold for $20 an acre to General Adamson Tannerhill, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. In the late 1840’s, Thomas Mellon brought a tract of farmland on the slopes nearest the city. He then subdivided the tract into smaller, city-sized plots, selling each at a tidy profit, and thus began the Hill’s development as a settled community whose first residents were well-to-do. The Hill is commonly divided by its several smaller hills — Lower, Pittsburgh's Hill District, seen from the Monogahela River circa 1935 Middle, and Upper. In the early days of Pittsburgh, the lower hill was known as Haiti and primarily settled by runaway slaves. The middle and upper hills, known as Lacyville and Minersville, respectively, were predominantly populated by Germans and Scotch-Irish until the 1880s when central and eastern Europeans began to settle there.

African Americans began to arrive from the South between 1880 and 1890. During the years leading up to World War I, they were urged to come to the North by industry recruiters who were promising relief from the segregation laws of the South. In time, the Hill became an ethnic and racial melting pot of Russians, Slovaks, Armenians, Syrans, Lebanese, Greeks, Poles, Chinese and Jews, weaving a rich and vibrant tapestry for Pittsburgh city life.

Hill District residents supplied the labor for mines, mills, business and government. The Hill’s vibrancy lasted through the Depression, and it was through these difficult times that the Hill became a place for music. With such places as the Crawford Grill, Hurricane Lounge, Savoy Ballroom and Musicians Club, it came to be well known on the National Jazz Circuit. While the Hill managed to maintain its vibrant, politically active community, a deteriorating neighborhood infrastructure began to take hold.

In 1943, City Council member George E. Evans wrote that approximately 90 per cent of the buildings in the area were substandard and had long outlived their usefulness, and thus there would be no social loss if they were all destroyed. About a decade later in 1955, the federal government approved the Lower Hill Redevelopment plan, which ultimately displaced over 8,000 residents; 1,239 black families, 312 white. The Hill took another significant blow and struck bottom during the riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. The riots began on April 5, 1968 and continued until April 12. That one week of rage saw 505 fires, $620,000 in property damages, one death, and 962 arrests. Still, black Pittsburgh citizens have since met and transcended these problems in an effort to rebuild, inspiring confidence that the Hill District will be revitalized and can return to the vibrancy it once had.

Source: http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/hill/hill_n4.html 14

Theatre Etiquette

When we visit the theatre we are attending a live performance- with actors that are working right in front of us. This is an exciting experience for you and the actor. However, in order to have the best performance for both the audience and the actors, there are some do’s and dont’s that need to be followed. And remember that we follow these rules because the better audience you can be, the better the actors can be.

1. Don’t allow anything that creates noise to go off during the performance—cell phones, watches, etc. 2. Don’t take any pictures or video recordings during the performance. All of the work is copyrighted by the designers and you could face serious penalties. 3. Don’t eat or drink in the theatre. 4. Don’t place things on the stage or walk on the stage. 5. Don’t put your feet up on the back of the seat in front of you. 6. Don’t leave your seat during the performance unless it is an emergency. If you do need to leave for an emergency, leave as quietly as possible—and know that you might not be able to get back in until intermission once you have left. 7. Do clap—let the actors know you are enjoying yourself! 8. Do enjoy the show and have fun watching the actors! 9. Do tell other people about your experience and be sure to ask questions and discuss what you experienced after the show!

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Recommended Resources

Books and Articles:  The African American Experience by Joe Williams Trotter, Jr.  The Cambridge Companion to August Wilson by C.W.E. Bigsby  From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin and Alfred Moss  “The Hill District: History” from The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/hill/hill_n4.html  The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson by Harry Justin Elam, Jr.

Websites & Organizations:  August Wilson Center for African American Culture http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/  http://www.negrospirituals.com/  PBS: Africans in America www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html

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