Recognizing gaps and omissions in history lessons, Karamu House in Cleveland premieres an original play Friday looking back at the Red Summer of 1919, when racial terror took hold in cities across America.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a subject that a lot of people don't really know a lot about,鈥� said Nina Domingue, the playwright and co-director of
The play is a continuation of Karamu House鈥檚 social justice series, following the productions of 鈥淕reenwood: An American Dream Destroyed鈥� and 鈥淔reedom on Juneteenth,鈥� and was conceived by Karamu CEO Tony Sias, who also co-directed the production.
鈥淩ed Summer鈥� connects current issues to the Red Summer of 1919, when white mobs claimed Black lives in at least two dozen cities across the U.S.
鈥淚鈥檓 very interested as a writer in examining the circumstances surrounding an event,鈥� Domingue said. 鈥淲hat set the stage for this to be able to happen like this?鈥�
In doing research for the play, she said it was 鈥渆erie鈥� to see connections between the types of major events happening a century ago and current issues. In 1919, for instance, WWI had recently ended and there was a global pandemic.
It was also notable, Domingue said, what was and wasn鈥檛 written about the Spanish flu crisis.
鈥淭he war ended, so we're going to talk about that, and we're not going to talk about these people dying,鈥� Domingue said about the sentiment she noticed through her research.
Karamu鈥檚 鈥淩ed Summer鈥� weaves together stories from the past and present, showing how people wrestle with how to respond to issues then and now.
鈥淲hen I began to look at the way the deaths of Black trans women have been ignored, it's like, 鈥榊es, we are fighting to make sure that we all stay alive, but we can't talk about that yet,鈥欌�� Domingue said.
In addition to the serious subject matter, there鈥檚 also hopefulness in the play.
鈥淭here's a character in the show, Ms. Sheila, who is the elder, who has to come in at one point and talk to the young people and tell them, 鈥楬ey, you can't get discouraged because something didn't go your way today or last week or last year. You have to keep fighting,鈥欌�� Domingue said.
In writing that character, she said she drew upon the memory of her grandmother.
鈥淪he was 94,鈥� Domingue said. 鈥淭o live from Jim Crow to seeing (Barack) Obama become president, like the number of changes and fights and wars and everything that she lived through and endured, and (she) remained kind and loving.鈥�
鈥淩ed Summer鈥� is onstage through March 5 at Karamu House in Cleveland鈥檚 Fairfax neighborhood.
