James Wilson takes a look at Black No More from The New Group:
In "The Negro-Art Hokum," a controversial essay published in 1926, African America writer George S. Schuyler declared, "Aside from his color, which ranges from very dark brown to pink, your American Negro is just plain American. Negroes and whites from the same localities in this country talk, think, and act about the same." Five years later Schuyler's Afrofuturist book "Black No More," which took satirical aim at the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, furthered this premise, and in the process revealed the hypocrisies, fallacies, and malignancy of white supremacy. The New Group's exhilarating new musical adaptation retains the novel's relevance, and it is the rare show that appeals to the intellect, the heart, and the soul. |
