Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
In a Facing History and Ourselves classroom, students discover, in the words of German historian Detlev J.K. Peukert, that "the shadowy figures that look out at us from the tarnished mirror of history are – in the final analysis -- ourselves." The arts play a central role in helping students make that connection, for it is through the arts that they begin to see themselves in others. It is also through the arts that they develop empathy, the ability to see the world through someone else's eyes.
President John F. Kennedy once told Americans that arts raise our spirits, deepen our insights, and enhance our self-comprehension. As Facing History students view the past through music, art, drama, and literature, many find their own voice and begin to tell their own stories: stories linked to their identity, their sense of who they are, and the dreams of what they might become.
Look What a Wonder , Walter Robinson's gospel musical, reveals the way the arts can raise universal questions through an exploration of a particular history. It is a story that explores many of the themes central to a Facing History course: identity and voice, courage and resilience, freedom and justice, and decision-making and choice.
We are grateful to Seth and Beth Klarman for sponsoring this event and giving this performance as a gift to our community.
Margot Stern Strom Executive Director
1 Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
FROM THE COMPOSER
I am thrilled that you will have the opportunity to hear Look What a Wonder . I would like to share with you a part of my life's journey in writing and composing this musical.
From the age of three, I was brought up in a black Baptist church in a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I can remember sitting next to my grandfather in church every Sunday. I would hear the rich vocal sounds of African-American worshipers who had family roots in Virginia and North Carolina. After singing the chorus of a particular song, the church members would often just hum the melody. These melodies and rhythms were a natural part of my environment as a child. Over the most impressionable years of my life, this music became a part of my deepest, innermost self.
Music and dancing were a central part of my experience as a teenager and college student. The lyrics of pop dance music were different from those of church music, but I could see that pop dance music had its roots in the music of the black church. As a music and psychology major at Temple University, I made extra money by playing the double bass and spent a great deal of time playing jazz. Here again, I noticed similarities between the music of the black church and jazz. After college, I started playing pop music professionally and realized the power of music to facilitate social change.
All of my musical experiences came together when I decided to create a musical based upon the life of Denmark Vesey. I chose Denmark Vesey because his life involved certain issues which people rarely discussed openly: (1) the role of religion during the time of slavery; (2) the idea that blacks did bear arms and fight for freedom; (3) the complex role of skin color as a result of racial mixing during slavery; and (4) the difficulty slaves faced in maintaining a family and culture under slavery. I became convinced Americans needed to hear about slavery from the slave's point of view .
When I asked myself what was the best way to tell the story of Denmark Vesey and slavery, I immediately heard those same sounds that flooded my mind when I was five years old sitting in church with my grandfather. This African-American music was first created during the time period of slavery. I knew that basing my original music on traditional spirituals, gospel, and blues would be an effective way to communicate the important story of Denmark Vesey and slavery.
The African-American musical legacy was one of the most positive outcomes of the very tragic period of American slavery. The music gives voice in the most authentic way to individuals who, for the most part, did not keep diaries or written records of their thoughts and feelings. Yet, within the musical legacy is a communication of feeling that could never be expressed in mere words or historical documents alone. When we sing the music, it becomes living history.
Walter Robinson Composer
2 Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY OF DENMARK VESEY'S LIFE AND REVOLT
1767 Denmark Vesey is born.
1781 Vesey is sold into slavery to Captain Joseph Vesey on Santo Domingo Island in the Caribbean. Vesey becomes Joseph Vesey's personal slave and works on slave-trading vessels.
1783 Vesey moves with Joseph Vesey to Charleston, South Carolina, and begins hiring himself out as a carpenter.
1791 Black slaves on Santo Domingo, now called Haiti, stage a successful revolt and overthrow the colonial French government. News of this revolt inspires Vesey to think about similar measures for blacks to gain freedom in Charleston.
Dec. 1799 Vesey wins $1,500 in the Bay Street Lottery.
1800 Vesey purchases his freedom from Joseph Vesey for $600.
1800-1822 Vesey practices carpentry and buys a home near Charleston. He joins a growing community of approximately 1,000 free blacks.
1817 Vesey becomes a member of the Hampstead Methodist Church, the first independent black church in South Carolina, led by Reverend Morris Brown.
Dec. 1821 Vesey plans for a slave revolt for the night of July 14, under a new moon and while many Charleston whites are vacationing in the North. He begins recruiting an army of slaves and free blacks that will total between 5,000 and 9,000 insurrectionists. During planning meetings, Vesey quotes the Bible and speeches from U.S. Senator Rufus King, who opposes slavery.
May 31, 1822 Slave Peter Prioleau reports information about the slave revolt plans to his slaveholding family. The Charleston police arrest several of Vesey's men including his chief recruiter, Peter Poyas. The Charleston city council interrogates them.
June 8, 1822 Vesey changes the date of the revolt from July 14 to June 16.
June 16, 1822 Vesey cancels the slave revolt because Charleston officials have begun close watch of his and others' movements around the city; a surprise attack is impossible.
June 20, 1822 City officials launch a search for Vesey.
June 23, 1822 Denmark Vesey is captured and brought to trial.
June 28, 1822 City officials find Vesey guilty of treason for his attempt to raise an insurrection.
July 2, 1822 Vesey is hanged on Blake's Lands, near Charleston. The special trial court session sits for five and a half weeks, considering charges against 117 blacks. 38 of these are released for lack of evidence and 79 are put on trial. Of the 79 tried, 59 are convicted and 34 of these are hanged. The remaining convictions result in permanent exile, usually into slavery outside of South Carolina.
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PLOT SYNOPSIS FOR LOOK WHAT A WONDER a fictionalized account of the life of Denmark Vesey
Denmark Vesey was a real man who planned to overthrow slavery in the American South in 1822. The story of Look What A Wonder is based loosely upon the events in his life. However, in turning history into drama, Walter Robinson has used his imagination to fill in many gaps in our knowledge of Denmark's life. For example, although we know Denmark had an enslaved wife, we do not know if they had any children. Robinson has also altered certain elements in his story in order to make it more compelling. As you read through this plot synopsis, make sure to keep in mind that it is a fictionalized account of a true story.
Key Characters
Denmark Vesey , slave revolt leader Rose Vesey , Denmark Vesey's wife Jeremiah Vesey , Denmark Vesey's ten year-old son Chloe Vesey , Denmark Vesey's eight year-old daughter Bartholomew Moore , a mulatto slave; half-brother of Colonel Moore Colonel Moore , master of Rose and Bartholomew; head of the South Carolina militia
Introduction
Look What A Wonder is the story of a black family: Denmark Vesey, his wife Rose, and their two children. It takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, in the years 1821 and 1822.
Denmark Vesey is a free black in a community of approximately 3,000 free blacks and 60,000 slaves. He is a carpenter by trade. When he was an adolescent, Denmark was a slave owned by a Captain Joseph Vesey. Denmark was granted the "honor" of serving as the first mate on Captain Vesey's slave ship. The captain required Denmark to do terrible things, such as whipping a rebellious slave to death. As an adult, Denmark is haunted by his own past actions. His rage against slavery drives him to try to free all black slaves in America. In doing so, he hopes to win justice for blacks and at the same time redeem himself for his past on the slave ship.
When Captain Vesey later retired to Charleston, he granted Denmark his freedom. Rose and their two children are still enslaved when the musical begins. They belong to a white master named Colonel Moore.
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A Complicated Freedom
The musical opens with Denmark's recurring nightmare of his slave ship experience, but the next day brings hope: Denmark wins $1,500 in the Charleston lottery. His first thought is to purchase the freedom of his wife and two children from Colonel Moore. However, Denmark does not have enough money to buy them all. He tells Rose he will buy the children first and save enough money to purchase her freedom in a few months.
However, Rose sees Denmark's lottery win as a special opportunity for the whole family to be free and to leave Charleston for the North. She asks Denmark to sell his carpentry shop in order to have enough money to purchase them all immediately. Denmark does not want to abandon his home, his livelihood, and community for an uncertain future in the North. He believes that slavery is about to collapse: the Atlantic slave trade has recently been outlawed, and Congress is vigorously debating abolition. Denmark feels that he can make a difference in the struggle for liberation of the slaves in Charleston, so he gives Rose cash to buy their children from Colonel Moore and assures her that she soon will have her freedom, too.
When Rose pleads with her master to sell her children to their father, Colonel Moore reluctantly agrees but claims that his black servants are the "best treated in Charleston." His continued control of Rose casts a shadow over the entire Vesey family. The children must also bend to their former master when they are in his presence. When Denmark gives Jeremiah a book about Moses for his birthday, Colonel Moore replaces it with a more "useful" book on etiquette and manners. These actions anger Denmark.
The Colonel also has a complicated relationship with Bartholomew, who is his mulatto slave, half-brother, and constant childhood companion. Colonel Moore does not like to acknowledge the emotional bonds he shares with Bartholomew. He eases the resulting conflict within himself by giving Bartholomew special privileges.
Conflict Between Charleston's Blacks and Whites
As Denmark works daily in his carpentry shop to save for his wife's freedom, he also takes on more leadership in Charleston's black community. The community has come under increased persecution from white officials in the city. St. Michael's, a white church, prohibits black members from continuing to use its burial ground because the church wants to build a seminary there. Denmark and a black minister rally Charleston's free blacks and slaves to leave St. Michael's in protest. They form Shiloh, Charleston's first independent black church. With great pride, Denmark supervises the construction of a beautiful new church building, mobilizing the labor of the entire black community. Excited by news of the successful slave revolt in Santo Domingo, Denmark sees Shiloh as a first step toward total black liberation.
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White leaders move to block Shiloh's self-determination. They impose a legal requirement that the church have a white supervisor in order to hold church meetings. Bartholomew asks Colonel Moore to intervene on behalf of the church, but when the Colonel tries to help, Charleston's leaders turn a deaf ear. White authorities believe that the Colonel has grown too soft with his slaves.
Members of Shiloh's congregation ignore the requirement of a white supervisor and hold their first Christmas dinner. The Charleston police violently disrupt the gathering and close the church. The blacks resist, and Shiloh's men, women, children and elderly are injured in the fray. The incident divides the church: some Shiloh members urge an armed revolt against white control with Denmark as their leader; others want to compromise with white authority.
Before the community can find resolution, Denmark's daughter, Chloe, is kidnapped by slave traders. Colonel Moore's past contact with slave traders puts him in the best position to get the girl back. Rose is therefore forced to ask his help, which enrages Denmark because the Colonel's control over his wife is increasing.
The black community needs Denmark's leadership to unify support for a black insurrection against the white authorities. Blacks also need Denmark's money to purchase weapons. Denmark is in anguish. Where should his loyalty lie: to the liberation of the larger community or to Rose and his children?
Denmark Vesey's Fight For Liberation
Rose makes a desperate attempt to have Denmark leave for the North. She brings him to the Charleston waterfront and begs him to meet with a Quaker captain who will take the family to New England. There, Denmark can fight to end slavery through less risky means. She cannot anticipate that the sight of the ship will bring back a flood of memories to her husband. For the first time, he tells her about his slave ship experience.
Denmark takes Rose by the hand, and they enter into his nightmare. They descend the steps of the slave ship to the hold, which is filled with hundreds of slaves. Rose sees what has secretly tormented her husband for so long. Young Denmark whips a rebellious slave to death and then falls to his knees in shame. The adult Denmark embraces the specter of his younger self. After a moment, however, the adult Denmark begins to break the chains of the slaves. They rise up and arm themselves with guns that he distributes. The resurrected cargo of slaves is transformed into a revolutionary army that will win victory in Charleston. The flashback fades, and Rose understands that she has lost her husband and her personal liberty to the larger cause of liberation.
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Colonel Moore blames Chloe's abduction on Denmark's negligence and tells Rose that he will provide for her and Chloe once he finds the girl. While Rose is praying aloud about her turmoil, the Colonel eavesdrops and learns about Shiloh's plan for revolt. When he brings this news to the mayor and chief of police, they do not believe him. Nevertheless, they agree to monitor black activities.
In a secluded wood, with Shiloh's exiles gathered around him, Denmark gives an impassioned sermon. He uses the kidnapping of his daughter to inspire revolutionary fervor. After he finishes, the whole congregation is unified toward rebellion.
Denmark realizes that the whites are suspicious that blacks are planning a revolt. He tells his fellow conspirators that they should kill Colonel Moore, who heads the state militia, before the revolt begins. He designates Bartholomew, closest to Colonel Moore and least suspected, to poison his master. Bartholomew agonizes over the need to kill the Colonel, his half-brother, and meets with Denmark. Rose enters the room and hears the assassination plan. With enormous difficulty, she tells Denmark that she has lost all respect for him. Then she leaves.
Denmark convinces Bartholomew to poison the Colonel. As the Colonel lies dying, his love for Rose motivates him to tell Bartholomew where Chloe's captors can be found. Denmark now believes he can finally retrieve his daughter, strike a successful blow against oppression in Charleston, and win back Rose.
The Revolt Falters
Charleston's whites are suspicious of Colonel Moore's sudden death and call out the militia to block off all roads leading into and out of Charleston. On the night of the intended rebellion, Denmark's insurgents encounter armed resistance from the better- armed Charleston militia. Denmark sees that he has lost his greatest weapon, the element of surprise, and stops the rebellion before it starts.
Broken and alone, Denmark sends a message to Rose, asking her to meet him in the abandoned Shiloh building where he is hiding. He asks for reconciliation. Rose and Denmark reaffirm their love and set a plan to escape North. Rose tells him that Chloe will be returned. According to the kidnappers' demands, Denmark, Rose, Jeremiah, and Bartholomew go to the wharf with a large sum of money. The slave traders appear with a little girl who runs toward Rose's open arms. Rose cries hysterically when she realizes that the girl is not Chloe. The slave traders have used another girl as bait, hoping to get the large reward that has been placed on Denmark's head for leading plans for a revolt. The police immediately surround the family and take them away.
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The Truth Shall Make You Free
At trial, Denmark Vesey and thirty-five other conspirators are found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. As Denmark walks to the gallows, he hugs Rose and then embraces his son one last time. He whispers in Jeremiah's ear. After the hanging, Jeremiah tells the gathered black community what his father said: "The truth shall make you free." At the same time, Chloe is on an auction block being sold back into slavery to the highest bidder.
Despite the loss of their leaders, Charleston's black community is inspired to carry on the freedom struggle. The musical ends with a final song of inspiration. Even though Denmark Vesey's revolt failed, it helped set in motion a series of events that led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War.
CONNECTIONS
Walter Robinson calls this work "a fictionalized account of the life of Denmark Vesey." Look back at the introductory paragraphs and discuss which elements are fact and which are fiction. Vesey's daughter Chloe is a fictional creation, yet her supposed kidnapping creates an opportunity for Vesey's real-life capture.
How would the musical’s impact on you change if Robinson had not chosen to create children and a kidnapping in this story? How is this musical different from reading about Vesey's life in a textbook?
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RESPONDING TO LOOK WHAT A WONDER
Often, students learn history through textbooks, but artists like Walter Robinson allow us to learn about the past through the dramatic, subjective, and emotional perspectives of art. By retelling the true story of Denmark Vesey as a musical theater piece, Robinson can convey some of the emotions and drama which he imagines were part of the history. He has taken his inspiration from the facts but also has taken artistic license in order to create an entire story. Art and imagination fill history's gaps and allow us to feel a more personal connection than we would through a dry recitation of facts. According to Robinson:
We can never fully understand or know what it was like to be an American slave. Everyone who experienced slavery is dead, and none of us today have lived in an identical situation. Yet, if we do not try to imagine what it was like or confront the fact that slavery existed, we lose a precious opportunity to develop an awareness today which can help prevent similar experiences from occurring again. Art is one of the effective ways of confronting some of the experiences of slavery.
Musical theater is an especially capable art form for historical retellings because music can express emotions and sensations when words are too limiting or constraining. You will notice that during the musical, the characters sing when they are in the most dramatic moments. This allows them to convey their emotions through two media, words and music, at once. This creates a more powerful experience than mere words could.
Look What a Wonder uses gospel music to drive the plot. Traditional gospel music developed during the time of slavery and was preserved as a genre of black religious music. It is characterized by the use of extensive syncopation, call and response singing, and the pentatonic scale. Gospel is often performed by choirs led by soloists who may use improvised lyrics and rhythms. In Look What a Wonder , the composer uses gospel- style music to represent the fervent determination of a people reaching for a single goal: freedom.
Syncopation is a musical term for altering the normal pattern of accents. The accent falls on a weak beat or offbeat (between the beats) instead of on the strong beat of a measure. Syncopation occurs often in contemporary music; many believe it developed out of traditional African-American music rhythms.
Call and response singing occurs when a soloist sings a line and the chorus repeats the phrase. In "Build the Church," Vesey acts as the soloist, calling out instructions for the construction of Shiloh, the first independent black church in Charleston. The community shows its agreement and approval by repeating his phrase. In this song, gospel patterns build the drama of the lyrics.
9 Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
Many gospel songs involve a soloist and chorus . In "Brave and Strong”, Vesey sings to encourage his congregation to disobey an injunction which orders that a white person must be present at each meeting of the black church. Vesey sings the verse, and the community responds as a chorus, showing its support.
Improvisation is a key element of gospel singing. "Ride on King Jesus," which is sung by the congregation after the church is attacked, is a traditional gospel melody with new lyrics.
Energy and emotion are essential to gospel music. "This Great Army" occurs when Denmark dreams of freeing slaves from the hold of a ship. This gospel song exemplifies the energy and passion that one would hear in a black gospel church, but in the musical, it is used to show unity in fighting for freedom. Singers also use tempo (speed) and dynamics (loudness and softness) to bring energy and emotion to their music.
Tone refers to the quality or character of a musical note. For example, an expensive Stradivarius violin's notes would have a different tone, or quality of sound, from an inexpensive violin for a beginning student. The tone made by hitting your fist against the desk has a very different sound quality from hitting a mallet against a drum. When selecting singers for Look What a Wonder , the composer sought performers whose vocal texture and sound resemble the Southern dialect and vocal overtones that are a hallmark of gospel music. Listen to the voices of Look What a Wonder and pay attention to how these qualities contribute to the soulful aspects of the musical.
Harmonics and scales also influence the musical. Often, Robinson uses harmonies that reflect the blues scale or syncopation that are common to African-American music. For instance, the song "It Feels Like God Wants Me To Die" is in a minor key and uses a blues scale. Even though it is not a gospel song, it carries the sadness that the great African-American leader W.E.B. DuBois characterized as "the Sorrow Song." The duet between Denmark Vesey and his wife, Rose, "This Love," has chord and harmonic structures that reflect the chords used in the black church.
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Dynamic intensity means the volume and strength with which a song is performed. In the duet "Childhood Ends," the slave Bartholomew asks his half-brother and master, Colonel Moore, to help Shiloh, hoping to inspire mercy and empathy in his master. Bartholomew sings of their childhood closeness, and the duet demonstrates how the same experience was viewed differently by the slave and the master. Every time Colonel Moore repeats the chorus, he sings it at a different volume and intensity. Thus, although the words are the same: "Childhood ends/Boys become men/Memories dim," we can recognize by the raising of his voice that he is getting increasingly frustrated and upset by Bartholomew's pleading.
Lyrics are the most direct way for the composer to convey his message to the audience. Not only are the words important, but so are the patterns in which words are used. Rhyme, meter, repetition, and alliteration are all used in songs as they are used in poetry.
CONNECTIONS
A cassette tape of "Go Down Moses" is available from the Facing History and Ourselves Resource Center. Listen to Version One of the song "Go Down Moses." The vocalist is an African-American gospel singer. What words would you use to describe the emotions in that song? Of what did the rhythms and notes remind you? How would you describe the voice that sang it? Use adjectives like smooth, raspy, or raw. Next, listen to Version Two of the song. The vocalist is an Anglican hymn singer. Describe the difference in the two voices. What might people like about each version of the song?
On the same cassette, listen to "It Feels Like God Wants Me to Die," which is sung by Denmark Vesey's kidnapped daughter Chloe. When the first verse is sung, listen particularly to the words. What experience is Chloe describing? What confuses her? The song starts off with the chorus, which is a plea for help. Although the words remain the same in each chorus, listen to how the harmonic structure changes each time. How does the changing harmonic structure deepen the meaning of the lyrics? How does the music help the audience to empathize with her experience?
This song is sung to a minor blues scale. It is followed by a dark and ominous instrumental interlude during which Chloe cries and breaks down beyond words. After this breakdown, the song transforms from minor to major key. How does this shift convey the transformation from despair to hope? What is the brighter future of which Chloe dreams? Which elements of the song express the emotion and intimate feelings most effectively?
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READING 1
In his introductory letter to this guide, Walter Robinson writes about the childhood experiences and influences that led him to create Look What a Wonder . Denmark Vesey also had childhood experiences that led to his actions as an adult. In addition, Vesey's identity was shaped by the community in which he lived, Charleston, South Carolina. Russell Wigginton, a history professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, studies and teaches about slavery. He notes that behavior towards slaves was very different in Charleston than in other Southern cities:
When Denmark Vesey purchased his freedom in 1800, he immediately became a part of Charleston's black elite, as only two percent of blacks in South Carolina were not shackled by the institution of slavery. Between his abolition and the Vesey-led 1822 insurrection, however, the number of free blacks in Charleston continued to rise at an unprecedented rate. Still, 19th century Charleston maintained a unique distinction between whites, freed blacks, and slaves. Charleston developed a caste system in which freed blacks such as Vesey were considered useful "middlemen/women" in a society that placed whites at the top and slaves at the bottom. For example, Charleston whites were known to patronize free black tradesmen such as Vesey, allow free blacks to attend school, and, at times, extend free blacks voting privileges. Despite these occasional rights, Charleston society rarely allowed free blacks to consider themselves on par with whites, as the overwhelming majority of free blacks worked in unskilled jobs and lived in inadequate neighborhoods. Thus, Vesey and many other free blacks of the early 19th century maintained intimate connection with those in bondage. These complexities of Charleston's racial culture eventually allowed Vesey to operate to some degree within the separate black and white societies. Ultimately, Vesey's access to two worlds served as a segue to a trusting white community and a leadership role among other freed blacks and slaves.
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CONNECTIONS
"Who am I?" is a question that each of us asks. In answering, we define our identity. The diagram at the top of the next page is an example of an identity chart. Individuals fill it in with the words they call themselves as well as the labels society gives them. Most people define themselves by using categories important to their culture. They include not only "race," gender, age, and physical characteristics, but also ties to various groups.
Make an identity chart for Denmark Vesey. What labels would he attach to himself? What labels might others attach to him?
Now make an identity chart for Walter Robinson. Which are some key influences in his life? How does his identity shape Look What a Wonder ?
Looking at these two charts, compare the two. Draw a Venn Diagram: two interlocking circles on your paper. Label the left diagram “Denmark Vesey” and the right “Walter Robinson”. In the space where the circles overlap, write in identity elements that they have in common. In the two outside spaces, write in their individual identity elements. Are there significant traits in common? How would these affect the way in which Robinson approached writing this piece?
Why do you think it is valuable to view slavery from the slave's point of view? What experiences have helped you or others to understand other points of view? What experiences have had the opposite effect? Look for examples in the news and in the world around you.
Create an identity chart for yourself. What labels do you attach to yourself? What labels would others give you? Do they see you as a leader or a follower? Do you see yourself as a conformist or a rebel? How do society's labels influence the way you see yourself and the choices you make?
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READING 2
During the song "Nothing We Can Do," Bartholomew poisons his master, Colonel Moore, who serves as the head of the Charleston militia. During the song, Bartholomew slips poison into his master's tea. In the last verse, Moore realizes that he has been poisoned and is about to die.
Moore: Can we hold on to these days And make them last forever? Keep our mansions in their grace Each rosebud in its place? Make a museum of this day Not let it slip away? And preserve our royal rule And some way make it continual?
Bartholomew: Time has never forgotten a name Roses and mansions are just the same She'll turn the grandest treasures to rust Even heartbeats to dust.
Moore: I wish these things would not come true
Bartholomew: The day is late; there's nothing we can do . . . That we can do . . .
Moore: Nothing we can do
Both: Nothing we can do
Moore: Will I hear at evening's meal Men singing from the fields Can their bittersweet refrains Forever be sustained? As the violet stays in bloom And airs her sweet perfume And the wind ceaselessly blows Our sad and restless weeping willow?
Bartholomew: Tonight the singers will cease their song. Someone has whispered to them, "Move on." Nor will you smell the violets bloom From your still, windless tomb
Moore: I wish these things would not come true
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Bartholomew: The day is late; there's nothing we can do . . . That we can do . . .
Moore: Nothing we can do
Bartholomew: Nothing we can do
Both: Nothing we can do
CONNECTIONS
What does this song say about Moore's vision of slavery? Do oppressive systems live forever? Can democracy?
What are the themes of mortality in this duet?
Examine the theme of inevitability in this song. Are Moore and Bartholomew correct in saying, "There's nothing we can do?” Is change inevitable? How would each character define his choices in this situation? How did the culture in which they live determine these choices for them?
A fourth grade class in Colorado saw an opportunity to say, "What are we going to do about it?" instead of, "There's nothing we can do." After studying American slavery at Highline Community School in Aurora, Colorado, the teacher, Barbara Vogel, read a newspaper article about slavery in Sudan and Mauritania to the class. The students were horrified to hear that slavery was continuing in present-day Africa and decided to take action, creating "STOP: Slavery that Oppresses People." On the Internet, they contacted a Swiss based human rights group, Christian Solidarity International, which concentrates efforts on freeing victims of religious oppression being held in slavery. After seeing how CSI had freed over 4,000 victims, the class launched a fundraising drive using money from chores, allowances, and lemonade stands. Business leaders contributed money, and so did many other citizens. As of December, 1998, the class had raised nearly $50,000, which they hope will free over 1,000 enslaved Sudanese.
The students began fundraising with nickels and dimes, but their actions led to extensive community donations. This is an example of grassroots activism , in which small groups raise awareness for a larger community. What examples of grassroots activism can you find in your community's history?
What current event issues would inspire you to become involved? What resources could you contribute to a local or world crisis?
What holds people back from creating change?
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READING 3
One of the most often overlooked aspects of slavery is resistance. The appendix at the end of the guide lists several other slave revolts and rebellions. Denmark Vesey was one of only a very few black men who ever took up arms against slaveholders. To lead such a rebellion meant a high possibility of capture and death. The chances of actually making a significant difference in the practice of slavery were slim. Revolutionaries like Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and the participants in the Stono rebellion did not succeed in freeing slaves.
However, resistance was not limited to militant or violent acts. Breaking a piece of farm equipment, slowing down the pace of work, and even survival were acts of resistance. In Look What a Wonder , characters use various methods to obtain freedom. Denmark Vesey buys his freedom and wins the respect of the white community, which protects him from early suspicion. Later, he plans an elaborate rebellion to free others. Rose uses her relationship with her master to beg his help in retrieving her kidnapped daughter. Moore frees himself from internal conflict by granting Bartholomew special privileges while keeping him a slave. Bartholomew preys upon these memories, lulling his master into a false security that allows Bartholomew to be alone with Moore and kill him with poison.
Maya Angelou adapted Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "We Wear the Mask" to express how resistance can assume less obvious forms.
The Mask
We wear the mask that grins and Nay, let them only see us, while lies, We wear the mask. It shades our cheeks and hides our eyes, We smile, but, O my God, This debt we pay to human guile; our tears With torn and bleeding hearts we To thee from tortured souls arise. smile, And we sing, hey baby by her we sing And mouth with myriad subtle- hey ties. but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the Why should the world be over- miles; wise, But let the world think other- In counting all our tears and wise, sighs? We wear the mask!
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CONNECTIONS
Why do people wear masks in this poem? What do the masks represent? Who created the masks? Why don't they show their tears?
Discuss how each character seeks freedom in Look What a Wonder . What risks is each willing to take? What masks does each assume in order to achieve his or her goals?
Describe a situation in which you had to mask who you were. Did others encourage you to mask yourself?
Think of other ways in which communities resist besides active revolt. How do music, culture, religion, family, and personal actions become means of resistance?
Compare the actions of Denmark Vesey to the 20th century activism of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. How can non-violence be used as a method of resistance? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of resistance?
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APPENDIX A
Major Slave Revolts and Conspiracies in American History
1663 First serious slave conspiracy in Colonial America. Servant betrayed plot of white servants and African slaves in Virginia.
1712 Slave revolt in New York. 9 whites killed; 21 slaves executed.
1730 Slave conspiracy discovered in Virginia.
1739 Slave revolt in Stono, South Carolina. 25 whites killed.
1741 Suspicious fires and rumors of a slave plot led to general panic in New York City. 31 slaves and five whites executed.
1791 Haitian Revolution began, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture.
1800 Gabriel Prosser and fifteen other slave conspirators hanged for plotting an attack on Richmond, Virginia.
1811 Largest slave revolt in United States. Louisiana slaves revolted near New Orleans and are suppressed by U.S. troops.
1816 300 fugitive slaves and 20 Native Americans captured a fort in Florida for several days until attacked by U.S. troops.
1822 Denmark Vesey's planned slave revolt.
1829 Race riot in Cincinnati, Ohio. 1,000 enslaved African Americans headed for Canada.
1831 Nat Turner revolt in Virginia. 60 whites killed. Turner remained at large for two months and was then captured and hanged.
1839 Amistad mutiny led by Joseph Cinque on board a slave ship. After a trial in Connecticut, he was returned to Africa.
1849 Revolt aboard the slave ship Creole, headed for New Orleans. Slaves captured the ship and sailed to the Bahamas, where they received freedom.
1859 John Brown led five blacks and thirteen whites in an attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Only one African American escaped alive.
18 Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
APPENDIX B
Bibliography
Aptheker, Herbert. American Negro Slave Revolts . New York: Columbia University Press, 1943.
Berlin, Ira. Slaves Without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South . New York: The New Press, 1974.
Berlin, Ira, Marc Favreau, and Steven F. Miller. Remembering Slavery . New York: The New Press, 1998. With audio cassettes.
Douglass, Frederick. My Bondage and My Freedom . New York: Arno Press, 1968.
Huggins, Nathan, Martin Kilson, and Daniel M. Fox. Key Issues in the Afro-American Experience . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974.
Jones, Norrece T. Born a Child of Freedom, Yet a Slave: Mechanisms of Control and Strategies of Resistance in Antebellum South Carolina . Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1989.
Lofton, John. Denmark Vesey's Revolt: The Slave Plot that Lit a Fuse to Fort Sumter . Kent: Kent State University Press, 1983.
McKissack, Patricia C., and Fredrick L. McKissack. Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters . New York: Scholastic Press, 1994.
McKissack, Patricia C., and Fredrick L. McKissack. Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts . New York: Scholastic Press, 1996.
19 Teacher’s Guide Look What a Wonder A gospel musical by Walter Robinson
APPENDIX C
Correlation of Look What a Wonder with Memphis City Schools Lifelong Learning Standards
Social Studies Standard #1: Students should be able to analyze and discuss different forms of government and the influences of government on the lives of people.
Standard #2: Students should be able to interpret social systems of different cultures, based on knowledge of their arts, religions, and philosophies.
Standard #3: Students should be able to analyze the impact of location and the interactions between the environment and people across continents.
Standard #4: Students should be able to predict world conditions based on knowledge of past and present social, political, and economic conditions.
Arts Standard #1: Students should be able to communicate ideas, feelings, and attitudes through one for more arts disciplines.
Standard #3: Students should be able to make sound judgments about the value of different types of artistic products.
Standard #4: Students should be able to interpret the history of various civilizations through knowledge of their arts.
Standard #5: Students should be able to explore concepts and solve problems by connecting knowledge of the arts and other disciplines.
English/Language Arts Standard #2: Students should be able to derive literal, implied, and personal meaning from different kinds of texts and presentations.
Standard #3: Students should be able to access, organize, evaluate, and use information obtained by listening, reading, and viewing a variety of texts.
Standard #4: Students should be able to use literary knowledge as a basis for understanding themselves and society.
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