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Distinctly American: Performing Humanity in African American Literature from Proto to Post New Negro Renaissance

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Distinctly American: Performing Humanity in African American Literature from Proto to Post New Negro Renaissance University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--English English 2016 Distinctly American: Performing Humanity in African American Literature from Proto to Post New Negro Renaissance Julie A. Naviaux University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.362 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Naviaux, Julie A., "Distinctly American: Performing Humanity in African American Literature from Proto to Post New Negro Renaissance" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--English. 48. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/48 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Julie A. Naviaux, Student Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young, Major Professor Dr. Andrew Doolen, Director of Graduate Studies DISTINCTLY AMERICAN: PERFORMING HUMANITY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE FROM PROTO TO POST NEW NEGRO RENAISSANCE ___________________________________________ DISSERTATION ___________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences At the University of Kentucky By Julie Anne Navaiux Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young, Associate Professor of Drama and Speech Communication, University of Waterloo Lexington, Kentucky 2016 Copyright © Julie Anne Naviaux 2016 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION DISTINCTLY AMERICAN: PERFORMING HUMANITY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE FROM PROTO TO POST NEW NEGRO RENAISSANCE This project demonstrates how African American literature from the 1910s through the 1940s uses performance in order to stage debates within African American identity and American culture. Drawing on recent literary scholarship, performance studies, and early critical writing on African American art and performance, the project examines scenes of public performance in order to show how these literary scenes create space to investigate social and cultural constructions. The project investigates the ways performances within the texts also critique performances of race, gender, and class. Within these performance scenes, the literary texts also critique the audiences’ reactions to the artistic product against the audience’s and performer’s racial identity. This layering of spectator and performer can only occur because of the space created by the stage. The texts of this project reveal the problematic nature of being both “American” and “African American” cultural productions. The literature examined in this dissertation includes “scenes of performance,” where both an explicit audience and an explicit performer are present. In these scenes, the performer and their performance represent an embodiment of black cultural products. These “cultural products” include public speeches and musical displays in James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912), classical and modern dance as seen in Jessie Fauset’s There is Confusion (1924), variety show stages in Walter White’s Flight (1926), and vocal concerts in Ann Petry’s The Street (1946). The project argues that these literary texts engage with historical theater and create scenes with stage performance to show problems with binary racial lines and class distinctions. These texts in turn provide a historical lens for examining black theater, but also demonstrate why this time period would have been receptive to black theater and performance, and the circumstances that permitted its development. KEYWORDS: performance studies, James Weldon Johnson, Jessie Fauset, Walter White, Ann Petry ______________________________ Julie Anne Naviaux _______________________________ July 14, 2016 DISTINCTLY AMERICAN: PERFORMING HUMANITY IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE FROM PROTO TO POST NEW NEGRO RENAISSANCE By Julie Anne Naviaux _______________________________Vershawn Ashanti Young Director of Dissertation Andrew Doolen _______________________________ Director of Graduate Studies _______________________________ July 14, 2016 To artists and critics who believe in cultural art’s ability to change minds and reshape our world. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have come to completion without both professional and personal support. Thank you to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young. My four years working as his research assistant gave me confidence as a professional academic and allowed me to apprentice to one of my field’s well-respected professionals. The project would not have had its broadened scope of theoretical and cultural lenses without his valuable insight. Thank you to my family and my husband, Seth Lee, who have been with me through it all. Thanks also to my cohort at University of Kentucky: Andrea Holliger, Allison Palumbo, Ashley Bourgeois, Leah Toth, Craig Crowder, John Barbour, and Heather Chacon. They gave me the strength to survive the PhD process (from the first day of classes through the end of the dissertation defense and also my first days of college teaching) and gave me invaluable support navigating the dissertation writing and the job market. I couldn’t have asked for better graduate school friends. To Heather, as a fellow Walter White critic, thank you for feedback and ideas for the Walter White chapter. Finally, I want to thank the institutions in Memphis, Tennessee who made it possible for me to complete my project during my dissertation fellowship. Benjamin L. Hooks Central Memphis Public Library and the University of Memphis Ned R. McWherter library provided resources on Memphis’ and the United States’ legacy in African American music that proved extensive and invaluable to completing my chapter on Ann Petry. Cabana Café and Muddy’s Grind House provided good coffee and lovely places to draft and revise my project. They are all wonderful parts of the Midtown community. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………………….….... iii Chapter One: Introduction to American Culture in New Negro Literary Performances ………... 1 Chapter Two: Distinctly American Performance in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man …… 18 The Critical Valuation of Cultural Production ……………………………………..….... 21 Authenticity and Appropriation of Cultural Product ………………………….……….... 30 Loneliness as a Black Member in a White Audience ………………………….……….. 39 Awareness and White Audiences ………………………………………………..…….... 45 Limitations to Duplication and Replication ……………………………………….……. 52 Chapter Three: Masking Propaganda as Art in There is Confusion …………………...…......…. 55 Joanna’s Audience Response and Performance Possibilities ………………………….... 58 Reclaiming the Stage for Black Female Dancers ……………………………………..… 69 The Limitations of Joanna’s Performance …………………………………………..…... 77 Chapter Four: Claiming Black Art and Ancestry in Flight ………...……………………….…... 86 New Orleans Heritage and Cultural Memory …………………………………………… 87 Culture and Consequences of Racism ………………………………………………...… 94 Against Western White World’s Romance of Primitivism …………………….……..... 106 Cultural Memory for Black Americans Only ……………………………………......… 113 Chapter Five: Performance in the Post-Renaissance of The Street ……………………..……… 125 Fulfillment of James Weldon Johnson’s Warning …………………………….………. 128 Success is Not White Audience Approval ……………………………………..………. 135 Individual Internalized Expression of Protest ………………………………….……… 148 Conclusion for Post Renaissance Cultural Performance ………………………..……... 154 Chapter Six: Distinctly American Conclusions ……………………………………………..…. 157 References …………………………………………………………………………………….. 161 Vita ……………………..………………………………………………………………….….. 168 iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN CULTURE IN NEW NEGRO LITERARY PERFORMANCES In James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912), the unnamed narrator watches
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