University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2013 Strange fruit : an examination and comparison of themes in the anti-lynching dramas of black and white women authors of the early twentieth-century, 1916-1936. Anna Jo Paul University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Paul, Anna Jo, "Strange fruit : an examination and comparison of themes in the anti-lynching dramas of black and white women authors of the early twentieth-century, 1916-1936." (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1102. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1102 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRANGE FRUIT: AN EXAMINATION AND COMPARISON OF THEMES IN THE ANTI-L YNCING DRAMAS OF BLACK AND WHITE WOMEN AUTHORS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY (1916-1936) By Anna Jo Paul B.A., Clarion State College, 1969 M.A., Villanova University, 1976 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Humanities University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky May 2013 STRANGE FRUIT: AN EXAMINA nON AND COMPARISON OF THE THEMES IN THE ANTI- LYNCHING DRAMAS OF BLACK AND WHITE WOMEN AUTHORS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY (1916 - 1936) By AnnaJo Paul B.A., Clarion State College, 1969 M.A., Villanova University, 1976 A Dissertation Approved On April 15, 2013 By the following Dissertation Committee: Co-Director, Dr. Annette Allen Co-Director, Dr. Karen Chandler Pr£)fessor N~editi Burton Dr. Lundeana Thomas ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I knew very little of slavery or lynching in American when I proceeded with this degree. As a fIfm believer that "everything happens for a reason," I accepted my advisor's suggestion to research "chattel slavery." I am grateful to Dr. Annette Allen, a Co- Director of my Dissertation Committee, for her suggestion. These years of research have opened a world of history related to the African American population that was relatively unknown to me. This journey offered me the opportunity to become familiar with great and humble survivors. I have been honored to study their history, and I am astounded by their courage and tenacity. In addition, I thank Dr. Allen for her constant encouragement, patience and advice. She has been an exemplary advisor, an eloquent and knowledgeable mentor, and a dear friend. I would not have arrived at this degree without her constant guidance. Dr. Karen Chandler , as my additional Committee Co-Director, has given countless hours to editing and advising my research. Her attention to detail and her writing expertise were invaluable services to me in preparing and completing the dissertation. Her time and efforts on my behalf will always be appreciated. Thank you, Dr. Chandler for your attention to this effort. A sincere, Thank You, to Professor Nefertiti Burton, my advisor during my internship in the Theatre Department, and a member of my committee, for her guidance during this process. Professor Burton's kind encouragement and generous manner, her iii professional advice and theatrical experience, and her willingness to "give of herself' on my behalf, will always be remembered and appreciated. With her assistance, I was able to combine my theatrical interests with history. Thank you for all you have done for me, Professor Burton. I am most grateful. Dr. Lundeana Thomas deserves my thanks and gratitude as well, for agreeing to participate as a member of my committee late in the process. I am grateful for the time and efforts that she has given to the reading, the examination, and the constructive criticism of this project. Thanks must be extended to the Curators of Archival Manuscripts at three locations for their assistance in my research: Ms. Jo Ellen Elbashir at the Moorland Springarn Research Center at Howard University in Washington, D.C.; Ms. Wendy E. Chmielewski and Mr. George Cooley at Swarthmore College Peace Collection, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; and the Assistants at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. Their willingness to help in my research was appreciated and beneficial. A sincere and grateful "thank you" to Rita and Gary Marvin - to Rita for constant prayers that I would soon arrive at the end, and to her husband, Gary for saving me from "computer death" by finessing and justifying the body of the text. I will never be able to repay your kindness. Please accept my humble "thank you." An additional "thank you" goes to Mrs. Jane Meuler who aided in the typing of the longest chapter, and who found ways to "release stress" every day! I am blessed with wonderful friends. iv Finally, I could not have started or finished this project without the love and support of my husband, my children, my siblings, and my friends, who reminded me daily, "Just focus and get it done!" They never doubted, even when I did, that I would finish. I love you all. Thank you for being there for me. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all members of my family who have in one way or another, traveled the journey with me. I dedicate this work to the memory of my parents, Andrew and Anna Montana, who believed that hard work made for success. You are truly missed! I dedicate this work as well, to my siblings, Franci, Mary and Andy and their families, for their constant support and encouragement these past years. Most importantly, I dedicate this work to my loving husband, Barry, who stood with me at each milestone, and to my wonderful children, Andrew, Brooke, Jeremy, Christopher and Quinn - as well as my "honey boys," Jacob and Patrick. This work is dedicated to you with my deepest love and gratitude for your daily validation and encouragement which ultimately brought me to my goal. I wi11love you all forever. vi ABSTRACT STRANGE FRUIT: AN EXAMINATION and COMPARISON of the THEMES in the ANTI-LYNCING DRAMAS of BLACK and WHITE WOMEN AUTHORS ofthe EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY (1916-1936) By Anna Jo Paul Apri115,2013 Ten lynching dramas are analyzed and compared in this dissertation. In all ten, written by African American and white women authors, between 1916-1936, a combination of eight themes are presented: supremacy, hypocrisy, complicity, resistance, futility of black life, faith, trauma and motherhood. The intent of the analysis of themes is to determine each dramatist's representation of the themes through action, stage directions or elements of characterization. Following the examination of the dramas, a comparison is made between the similarities or differences that are apparent between those written by African American and white women authors. I have chosen to examine both groups of authors because at this time in history, white women joined th~ ASWPL (Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching) in an interracial effort to affect change and the curtailment of lynching. This dissertation offers an over-view of the historical climate of the South from Emancipation to the end of Reconstruction 1863-1877 . It includes a discussion on the vii genesis of lynching and the horrors of ritual sacrifice, along with the campaign against lynching that was influential in bringing attention to the phenomenon. The history of Black Theatre and Realistic Literature are also discussed in relation to the anti-lynching campaign that was begun by Ida B. Wells in 1892 and continued through the efforts of Southern white women under the guidance of Jessie Daniel Ames. The ten anti-lynching plays analyzed and compared in this work reveal the issues that faced both races: the white race confronting its own violence and the African American race resisting the temptation to remain silent about murder on the hanging tree. An estimated five thousand individuals died by the noose following the Civil War and into the mid-twentieth century. During that time, few perpetrators were convicted for their crimes, but hundreds of African American families lost loved ones because of racial prejudice. The anti-lynching dramas gIve an historical picture of the phenomenon that became a national embarrassment, and demonstrate how lives were destroyed at "the hands of persons unknown" (Dray, Cover: Title). viii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF DEATH ................................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE: .............................................................................................................. 13 The Historical Climate of the South from Emancipation to Anti-Lynching Drama ........ 13 The Status of Late Nineteenth-Century America: War, Emancipation, the New Social Order and Reconstruction of the Nation: 1861-1877 ........................................................ 14 Profound Changes Follow the War: Racism, Poverty, and Hunger - So this is Freedom? ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Key Political Problems ....................................................................................................