FOR COLORED BOYZ on the verge of nervous breakdown/ when freedom aint enuff __________________ A choreopoem in 2 Acts by Bryan-Keyth Wilson © April 30, 2020 (979) 877-1040 ​ P.O. Box 374 La Marque, TX 77568 [email protected] FOR COLORED BOYZ ACT I Lights fade up on a bare stage with five silhouetted figures scattered in space. Lights come up at different times with the actors dancing reflecting movement from different time periods. “DNA” by Kendrick Lamar begins to play. man in black in the beginning there was me running barefoot on the ivory coast man in orange skin black as onyx/ hair soft as lambs wool a careless disposition… man in blue free from judgment/ labels and phylums my likeness is described in the holy book but its my true identity you took man in green i am here in the present 2 FOR COLORED BOYZ looking back theres resentment pride and strength whipped outta me man in red your slave training and brainwashing affects us today in the present i draw strength from the ancestors so here i am man in green outside baltimore man in red outside north charleston man in black outside ferguson man in orange im in sanford man in blue im in houston man in green im your son man in blue your father 3 FOR COLORED BOYZ man in red your brother man in orange your husband man in black your lover all your friend The dancers walk aggressively in a circle. Each actor runs off one by one. Two actors remain on stage. One actor is a slave and the other is the slave hunter. man in black the sway of the slave boat carried the weary souls of my people filled with africans from bow to stern man in blue days on end i sit in darkness void of light man in black excrement/ vomit and urine linger we sit drinking the salty water thoughts void of civilization/ only humiliation 4 FOR COLORED BOYZ mothers weeping for their babies men silenced by fear my left leg shackled to his right my hands purposely restrained longing for Awondo’s rays on my onyx stained skin i just sit on this ship now we stand awondos rays hurt my very eyes this is not our homeland men and women with skin like snow watch us closely and we stand there/ examined and looked over we are livestock/ their animals the property of massah The men begin to walk in a straight line as if they are sold at auction. Slaves master enter and examine each slave. Once he purchases his slave Man in Orange and Man in Black exit and the other men begin to pick cotton and sing. man in blue/ red NORA, NORA, LET ME COME IN DO’S ALL FAST’NED AN’ DE WINDERS PINNED KEEP YO’ HAN’ ON DAT PLOW HOLD ON! 5 FOR COLORED BOYZ IF YOU WANT TO GET TO HEBBIN I TELL YA HOW KEEP YOUR HAN’ ON DAT GOSPEL PLOW KEEP YO’ HAN’ ON-A DAT PLOW AN’ HOLD ON. man in black yessah i’s bin werkin since earlee dis moanin dis field don’ bought massah a plenty fortune oh yeah/ we don bring in bout 5000 pounds of dis here cotton rekon dat be’s a lot we werk hard and Massah dont care how you feel get out here and get dat cotton pick he say young/ ole/ sick or wit chile yous get out herein dis here field and werk Man in Green sneaks off. he treat me right/ i rekon not like massah jacksun down dat way dont make his numbers yous gets lashes my daughtah ovah at jacksuns plantation he treat her mighty bad we seent each other near sutton general stoe she look froze and mute i’s seent it in hur eyes juss lay dere / don’t fight or he will kill ya look in her eyes was confuse / angry it juss the life we got/ accept it or die 6 FOR COLORED BOYZ after so many years of lashes not eating/ nd mo lashes i gots tired of dreaming you wakes up when dat cat o’ 9 tils touch ya skin dreaming dat dis here would soon be ovah its da life God don give us/ so stop fighting and stop dreaming wont do nothing but get you in trouble i sits and thank about my daughtah if she alright if she dead or not aint heard from hur in a spell just hope she listen dis here niggah just didn’t listen He points in the air told dat fool he needed to keep quiet all dat talk about escaping and being free got him hanging from dat tree massah got eyes an’ ears round dis plantation think these damn songs got to his head the dream of the slave is to work in dis here fields did he listen/ no massah got him hangin from dat oak right in the middle of the slave quarters reminding you niggahs what happens when you dream He looks up at the tree, shakes his head, starts to laugh, and 7 FOR COLORED BOYZ walks away. man in black/ man in red NIGGER WANNA RUN AN TRY TO BE FREE MASSAH GONNA HAVE YOU HANGIN FROM DAT TREE KEEP YO’ HAN’ ON-A DAT PLOW AN’ HOLD ON man in orange daddy died never saw life outside of this plantation he believed the life we had/ we had to accept i didnt believe that my older brother on the other hand carried the traits of our father/ he didn’t want to leave i was different/ so was baby brother we wanted to see the world i moved to paris to become a chef baby brother moved to harlem/ became a musician hangin out with those slick harlem niggahs but he just stayed here and worked became a sharecropper/ and refused to leave man in blue all this land/ i couldnt leave it we was free and still treated like slaves daddy did some sharecropping nd saved every penny i learned the way of the land my brothers couldnt handle it here in the south uppity niggas with a vision 8 FOR COLORED BOYZ my vision was to provide for my family i was the oldest with a wife and two boys i had to be an example i couldnt go exploring and blowing no damn trumpet i sure as hell couldn’t pack up everything and go to paris daddy left me this here land and i tend to it i am going to leave it to my boys/ hope they He enters ready to board a ship man in orange seek life outside of the south/ get tha hell away look at that ship right there it moves with power nd purpose on a destination to who knows where taking people on an adventure i aint been on no ship before but i want to id sit down there on the pier and watch those big ships i hoped and prayed one day i could get on one nd never look back i didnt take a liking to the heat i was too good looking to be sweatin like a mule so i learned to cook like my mama fresh biscuits/ collard greens/ nd homemade bread even learned how to fix clothes she told me that when i got married i wasnt going to be a burden to no woman hell/ little did she know/ i aint like women no way saved my pocket change and went to the a&p they used to publish recipes in the newspaper i learned/ nd read them all 9 FOR COLORED BOYZ i wanted to speak french nd cook for dignitaries daddy said i was just like them slaves on the plantation papa a dit que j'étais comme eux des esclaves dans la plantation just another niggah with a vision finally i got on that ship and never Man enters with a trumpet. man in red looked back hell/ i headed north on the first thing smoking my middle brother went to paris i wanted the big city if you werent in harlem you werent nowhere the music/ women/ and the culture was on the rise negroes was doing it big oscar micheaux had negro films in white theaters black folk set the bar for artistic excellence i knew that i had to be there too nd this was going to be my ticket (pulls out trumpet) ​ th on 125 ​ men were in suits/ wearing hats nd shiny shoes ​ ladies wore seam stockings nd gloves nothing like the women in the south negroes were making it happen for themselves doors were getting shut in our faces downtown so we got it jumping uptown even white folks were trying to come into our clubs the cotton club/ mintons playhouse were the hotspots harlem had a sound of its own/ nd I was a part of it this is where americas music was birthed 10 FOR COLORED BOYZ daddy got it for me and regretted it ever since this thing here would be paying my bills i started in ellingtons band jammed with lawrence brown on the trombone willie smith on sax nd dave black on the drums i became a resident of niggerati manor the world was changing black people were making history nd jazz was the soundtrack of our lives He pulls out his trumpet and begins to play. Man in Orange and Man in Blue enter with Man in Green playing football.